Grains of Sand
by Blastwave451
Summary: A clone trooper of the republic who questions his reasons to fight makes a decision that changes everything.....
1. Chapter 1

-1The burning red sun of Saleucami was almost lost behind a row of distant, jagged mountains, but enough sunlight flooded over to make the large, bulbous plants and carrion birds that littered the land visible. The climate was very hot, the humidity made the atmosphere very un-comfortable, and chances of finding any bodies of water on the planet were quite slim. Standing silently on top of a cliff a single, fully armored, BARC trooper scanned the outstretching rocky barren plains of Saleucami, deeply lost in thought.

"What am I doing?" He whispered to himself bemusedly.

For as long as he could remember he had been thinking of a reason why he was fighting in this war. Fighting an enemy he did not have a reason to hate "_1328!"_, fighting for leaders who would probably not even blink if hearing word of his death "_1328!"_, and most of all, fighting for a galactic peace that he would never even get a small piece of. He felt like a grain of sand in a desert that stretched until the end of time

"1328!" a rough, angry voice yelled a few feet behind him, jolting him out of his trance-like thoughts.

"Sorry sir!" BT-1328 said as he turned around, and stiffly stood at attention.

"Are you defective or something?" 1328's superior, BT-1247, continued to yell.

"n-no sir!" he stammered.

"Then grab your gear, you waste of good genes!" 1247 ordered. "We've been alerted that a jedi is here to take temporary command while the current jedi commander will be taking care of an affair that's come up in coruscant. Since our patrol is the closest to the city, we'll escort her from the cities interstellar port, to the field HQ. Understood?"

"Yes sir." said 1328.

"good." said 1247. "At least you're not completely useless."

With his final words said 1247 turned around and headed back to his in-active BARC speeder. 1328 quickly jogged over to his own BARC speeder, and began collecting his personal items. Because BARC troopers moved around so much, and never stayed in one place long, they had to travel very lightly. First He picked his standard issue DC-15S blaster pistol up from his speeder's only seat, and inserted it, neatly, into the speeder's only blaster compartment, next and last 1328 looked for his trusty knife. Although he was the only BARC trooper he knew to carry a knife around, the small, seven inch long, blade had saved his sorry hide from more occasions than he cared to remember. He picked up the small piece of metal, wiped the sand off of it with his gloved hand, and slid it, quickly, into a sheath at his waist.

"We can't wait here all day, 1328!" yelled 1247 impatiently, while sitting imperiously on his activated speeder.

"sorry sir!" 1328 said as he nimbly Mounted his speeder, felt the low hum as he powered up it's main engine, and shot like an arrow after his superior who had already taken off down a path into the now dark wasteland.


	2. Chapter 2

-1The sun had sank behind the mountainous horizon more than two hours ago, and the only good thing that would come out of it was that the blistering heat had subsided for the night, but on the other hand the temperature had now dropped to a level so low that if they weren't wearing their specialized cold-resistant jumpsuits under their armor they might have frozen to death by now, and it was so dark that even with their helmets low-light vision there was a good chance they could crash into a large rock jutting out of the ground or one of the millions of identical bulbous plants growing out of the planet's rocky surface.

BT-1328 was thinking about the temporary commander they were going to meet and escort back to the field HQ.

"I wonder if he'll be anything like Stass Allie, or Quinlan Vos. The two jedi that fought at the battle of Saleucami." He remembered them leaping heroically into groups of seperatist droids, deflecting their endless lasers, and swinging their light sabers relentlessly. Although the republic was victorious, there were still small amounts of droids located across the barren desert, so General Allie remained on the planet with the 91st reconnaissance to take care of the rest, while Quinlan Vos left to go fight on another seperatist controlled planet, but now General Allie has been called back to Coruscant for reasons he did not know.

"Alright." 1247 said, interrupting his thoughts over their helmet's comlink. "According to this map, we're more than half way, we can afford a few hours of rest, follow me, I'll find a suitable campsite."

1247 swiftly weaved his speeder through a number of rocks, and large, swollen plants, while 1328 followed closely behind, matching his movements in an identical fashion. 1247 promptly began to slow his speeder down, and soon banked sharply to his left, directing them off of the main path to Saleucami's only city.

"We're stopping here." 1247 said decisively over the comlink, as he brought his speeder to smooth stop. 1328 parked his speeder next to 1247's, and groaned as he dismounted his speeder. His back ached from their long trip. 1328's stomach suddenly made a low grumbling noise. He looked down at his stomach in surprise, and realized how starving he was. Normally 1328 never spoke to his superiors, unless they addressed him first, but his hunger was to great.

"Permission to speak, sir?"1328 asked 1247, whose back was facing him.

"What do you want?" 1247 replied. His voice rough, and ill-tempered.

1328 cleared his throat nervously. "Um, well since we've stopped for a while, I was wondering if I could, well-"

"Leave camp, and find food." 1247 said, finishing his question.

"Um, yes, if you would allow me to, sir." 1328 said awkwardly.

After moment of silence that seemed to stretch on agonizingly 1328 finally heard a reply from his superior.

"Fine." He said. "Go get food."

"Thank you, sir!" was all 1328 said before he ran over to his speeder snatched his blaster pistol from out of it's compartment, and ran off in search of something to subside his hunger for the night.

For almost an hour 1328 had been searching, pistol in hand, for a suitable meal, which was harder than he had realized. There was no vegetation, except for the large bulbous plants, and he wasn't taking any chances right now, for all he knew that type of plant could be poisonous. And the land was so barren, and rocky, that 1328 doubted the planet could support any kind of wildlife.

1328 let out a sigh of defeat, and was just about to turn back, when he heard a loud squawk. With renewed hope he quietly snuck up to the top of a small, rocky hill, in search of the sound's source. When he reached the top, he peered down the other side to see a small cluster of birds fighting over a dead animal, that he could not see. It was so dark, that the birds seemed to take no notice of him, for they were all fighting over their meal. With 1328's lowlight vision activated, he picked out which bird looked the biggest, and healthiest, and raised his blaster. 1328 was a good shot, and hitting the bird from here would be simple, but if he missed, he would be very hungry tonight. With the large bird directly down his blaster's sight he quickly squeezed the trigger. A flash of blue light was released from the barrel, casting the entire area below in a bright blue ray of light. The group of birds scattered into the sky, screeching in confused fear, all except one, which lied motionless next to the dead creature the birds were scavenging. 1328 quickly dashed down the hillside to observe his dead quarry.

As he approached the dead bird, with a burnt hole in it's side, his eyes glanced over to the dead creature lying next to it. To his surprise it was a clone trooper. 1328 quickly knelt down to the clone trooper's body, put two fingers to the clone's neck and prayed for a pulse, but he knew it was hopeless. The large scorching hole in his chest armor told him everything, and the collection of scratch, and bite marks on his armor told 1328 that many animals tried to get through his armor, so they could scavenge his dead body. Looking down at the fallen soldier made him feel low-spirited, and bitter. He was just left here, another "expendable" person. 1328 was very distressed at the sight of the dead infantryman. He quickly snatched up the bird by it's limp neck, and began trudging back in the direction of the camp.

A half hour later 1328 walked back into the campsite carrying the dead bird in one hand, and his blaster in the other. 1247 was sitting down, and leaning against a rock. He was also cleaning his blaster pistol.

"Took you long enough…" 1328 heard 1247 mumble.

1328 dropped an armful of sticks, and twigs he had picked up during his trip back. The plants would help to start a fire. He piled them together and looked for something to ignite the pile of twigs.

"sir, do you have anything I can use to-" 1328 was interrupted as 1247 stopped cleaning his blaster, aimed it lazily at the pile of stick beneath 1328's crouched form, and let loose a bolt from his blaster. The blue laser hit directly into the pile, ricocheting sparks and debris right into 1328's face. He uttered a small cry of disbelief as he fell back, stunned at 1247's action.

"What are you doing!?" 1328 yelled more in disbelief than anger. "You could've hit me!"

1247 didn't seem to give his previous action a second thought, because all he did was pick up the dead bird, and begin to pull out its feathers. Although what he did was dangerous, 1247 had started a small fire.

1328 quickly stood up. "Sir, you could've hit me!" he repeated, wanting a reply from his superior.

"So what." 1247 said in a cold-hearted tone. He began to tie the now featherless bird to a stick.

1328 clenched his fists as a relatively new feeling began pumping through his veins. It made him feel constricted, and oddly claustrophobic in his white, sinister looking armor.

"You can't do that…." 1328 said indignantly, his newborn feeling of anger bristling on the end of each word.

1247 buried the other end of the stick into the fine sand, so the dead bird hung over the growing flame.

With that 1247 leaped at the other trooper. 1328 was taken aback by his superiors reaction, and couldn't react in time to stop the lightning quick punch to his face. If 1328 hadn't been wearing his helmet the blow would have broken his nose. 1328 clenched his teeth in pain as 1247 grabbed his shoulder and drove his knee hard into 1328 stomach.

The brutal, un-expected attack left 1328 on his hands and knees, gasping for air, while 1247 stood calmly above him.

" I can do whatever I damn well please." 1247 said down to the gasping, coughing form of 1328.

"Do you think for a second that anyone, republic or not, cares if you live or die. I'd throw you right off one of these cliff, climb down that cliff, find your body, and fire a shot right between your eyes, but fortunately for you I don't get promoted by killing cannon fodder.

1247 turned promptly away from 1328, and pulled the stick holding the dead bird out of the sand. With the stick in one hand, 1247 used the other to grab the lip of his helmet, and pull it off. 1247's face had a deep tan, and was covered in a collection of scars. His hair was black, and at a short "military" length. 1247 immediately took a large bite out of the bird's side, and chewed vigorously, before swallowing the whole piece down.

1328 pulled himself over to a rock, and leaned his back against it with his legs splayed out in front of him. He reached to up to his helmet with both hands and lifted it off, wearily. He let it fall to the ground beside him, before turning his head sulkily and spitting out thick, red blood onto the sandy ground. 1328's superior continued to gorge himself on the bird 1328 had caught, and was going to eat, but right now 1328 didn't want to talk, he didn't want to sleep, he didn't want to think, and he especially didn't want to eat. Their was a hole inside him now bigger than any food could ever fill.

"We're leaving in exactly an hour." said 1247, while chewing up the last piece of meat on the bird. "You're going to take watch, and wake me when an hour is up. Understood?"

"Yeah.." 1328 said. So low it was almost a whisper.

1247 responded by putting his helmet back on, interlacing his fingers behind his head, and drifting off into sleep.

It was apparent to 1328 more than ever. He hated 1247, but never realized it until now. The new emotion made him choke up with anger at the very thought of his superior. 1328 put his helmet back on, while the insults 1247 spat at him earlier were still burning hot in his head…


	3. Chapter 3

The bright, morning sun was still creeping over the horizon, casting warm rays of light over the barren, dusty plains of Saleucami. 1328 steered his speeder with expert precision as he followed his superior, 1247. 1328 was coldly trailing 1247 around a large boulder, when suddenly 1247 raised his armor clad hand, signaling 1328 to stop.

Both BARC troopers quickly braked their speeders to a stop, the fine tuned engine's high pitched whirring, quickly turned into a low whine. 1247 put two fingers to the comlink activation button on the side of his helmet.

"We've got an incoming report from the field HQ." 1247 said explaining why he had ordered them to halt. "I'm patching it through."

After a few moments a voice joined the troopers current channel.

"BT-1247." a clone's voice began talking over the channel. "This is the field HQ. We've been watching you, and BT-1328's progress to Saleucami's spaceport over our map graph. You're very close, it should be just over th-."

"Is there something new you're supposed to be reporting?" 1247 interrupted, impatiently.

"Uh, yes." the voice said quickly. "For the last few hours, or so our weather tracking devices have been monitoring an area close to the city that's been a high risk for a sandstorm.

Sandstorms were as common as they were dangerous. If you got caught in one the chance of rescue was slim. They would blind you, change your surroundings and destroy any mapping or location equipment. Even the most elite clones wouldn't stand up to the unforgiving desert of Saleucami. Anyone lost in a sandstorm was considered already dead

"Understood." 1247 said. We'll get there before the sandstorm arrives."

"Good." the voice said "General Allie has decided not to leave the field HQ until the storm subsides."

"Alright." 1247 mumbled.

"Thanks for the heads up." 1328 said to the voice.

"sure thing." the voice said, just before the connection was dropped .

"We're going to speed the rest of the way, Saleucami should be just over that hill" 1247 said, in a cold tone, as he pointed to a large hill with a gradual, but rocky slope sitting across a small stretch of land

"Yes sir." 1328 said

1328's speeder went from it's low whine to back to it's high screeching, as he accelerated after 1247. 1328 shot forward as he pressed the pedal down further. 1247, and 1328 were rapidly streaming across the dry ground, leaving twin trails of dust behind them. 1328 felt a genuine sense of joy as he sped across the arid desert, blood pumping through his veins, and the wind rushing past his visor, it was a feeling that confused him, but he didn't care.

1247 called over the comlink. "We're getting close. Slow down."

Reluctantly, 1328 released his foot of the pedal, and lightly squeezed the brake handle, slowing him down to a safer speed. 1247 then began to lead his speeder up the rocky hillside, while 1328 followed closely next to him. The two soldiers approached ascended to the top of the hill to see a large, extravagant city before them. 1328, and 1247 raced down the hill, and through one of the cities entrances.

"Follow me." 1247 commanded.

1247 slowly accelerated his speeder to the equivalent of a human jogging. 1328 followed behind entranced by the beauty of the city. Most of the buildings were only a story high, made out of a brown sandy stone, and had green plants draped over and down the roofs. The streets were filled with people dressed from dirty rags, to colorful robes, and there were many shops in the street, selling exotic foods, and items.

1247 brought them both to a speeder parking area, where he immediately got off. 1328 dismounted as well, and followed his superior over to a short, bald man who looked like he was the owner of the establishment.

"Do you run this place." 1247 demanded, making it seem more like an interrogation, than a question.

"Please, don't hurt me! take what you want! I love the republic!" The cowering man yelled.

"We require parking for our speeders." 1247 said, ignoring the man's hysterical outburst.

"Of course! Anything for soldiers of the republic!" The man said in a nervous tone.

"How much will it cost?" 1247 said, reaching for his belt compartment. "you're paying for your own, 1328. I'm not paying for your-."

"Nothing!" the man interrupted loudly. "It won't cost anything at all! I don't want any trouble!"

"Okay. We also need directions to the spaceport here. Do you know where that is?"

"Just go down that street." He said, pointing down one of the many civilian filled paths. "just follow that street, and you'll get to the spaceport in no time."

Without replying 1247 turned around and walked toward the street the street the man pointed to.

"Why was that man so scared? Was it our appearance?" 1328 thought to himself.

1328 finally realized that everyone seemed to be trying to avoid them. Civilians were going out of there way to avoid coming to close to the white armored troopers., Mothers quickly snatched up their curious children and ran inside their homes, and shopkeepers ducked behind their concession stands.

"Now that I think about it." 1328 realized. "The only thing the republic has done is bring war to this peaceful planet, and that would cause either two emotions from these people. Fear, or hatred."

Everyone's eyes were on the two soldiers, which made 1328 nervous, it also made the short walk down the street last a millennium.

Relief flooded through 1328, as they saw the spaceport, and promptly turned towards it, leaving the crowded street. They both walked up to a tall man dressed in a uniform. The man was holding a datapad, and standing by a sealed door.

"Excuse me…uh...sirs" The uniformed man said, not sure what to call the two clones. "Can I help you?"

"We're here to pick someone up." 1247 said.

"Okay." the man said, looking at the datapad. "Name?"

"I don't know."

"I mean your name, sir"

"BT-1247."

The tall man scrolled through the datapad for a few moments.

"Ah, here it is. The ship will be arriving in a few minutes." The tall man turned to a screen built on the wall next to the door, and discreetly entered in the code to open the entrance. Once the code was complete the door immediately slid open. "Docking bay number 7."

1247 immediately strode through the door, while 1328 followed. The inside of the spaceport was large, and filled with people, and men wearing the same uniform as the tall man. At one end of the spaceport there docking bays where the ships landed. 1328 spotted the number 7 above one of the docking bays.

"There it is, sir." He said pointing to the number.

1247 promptly walked towards the docking bay, without saying a word.

"wait up, sir!" 1328 called as he realized 1247 had already left to go to the docking bay. When 1328 finally caught up, he saw 1247 standing at the docking bay entrance.

"Will you keep up?" he yelled angrily. "sometimes you'd seem more useful dead."

"Sorry, sir." 1328 said, feeling choked up with anger. 1328 didn't forget last night, when 1247 suddenly attacked him.

1328 gave a defeated sigh as he noticed all the people inside the spaceport, he wished he could be like one of them, he wished he could throw away his feelings of loneliness, sadness and confusion. He wished a lot of things, but he knew none of them would ever come true.

"Here he comes 1247 mumbled, once again snapping 1328 out of his thoughts. The clone walked next to 1247, and watched as a green jedi interceptor gracefully landed in the docking bay. The cockpit un-latched itself, and a hooded figure exited the starfighter just as a man carrying a long fuel tube jogged out and inserted the tube into the ships gas port. The hooded figure walked toward the two soldiers. 1247, and 1328 both began marching towards the hooded jedi. When the three of them met 1247 began talking.

"Welcome to Saleucami, Commander. greeted 1247.

The Jedi reached up and pulled his hood back, revealing that he was not a he at all, he was a she!

"Hello, BT-1247." she said warmly. "I'm padawan, Lana Varik."

1328 looked at her closely. He had never seen a woman this close before. Her hair was light brown, straight, and just below shoulder length. Her nose was smaller than his, and her eyes were blue and piercing.

"I'm sorry commander." 1247 said. "But we have to leave before the sandstorm arrives."

"Please lead the way." she asked.

"Yes ma'am."

1247 lead Lana to the door they had entered through, while 1328 followed both of them.

The door's sensors automatically opened the door, letting them out back into the streets

"Have a nice day." said the same man who had let them in.

"1247. Please tell me about the sandstorm." Lana asked.

"The field HQ reported to us that there was high risk that a sandstorm would come up near the city. If worse comes to worse, we'll have to stay inside the city until the storm subsides

"I see" she said. "Should we find lodging for the night?"

"yes, that would be a good start, wait here, ma'am." 1247 said, then walked off into a building with a sign that said vacancy.

1328 was beyond starving. He was craving something to eat, and being around the different food markets wasn't helping. He eyed a very delicious looking muja fruit, even though he didn't know what it was called. He thought about asking for it, and getting it for free, just like 1247 did with the shopkeeper, when all of a sudden a voice came from behind him.

"Are you hungry?" Lana asked.

1328 turned around, embarrassed. "Don't worry about it, it's noth-"

"Here." she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a few credits. "it's no problem, just take it."

1328 thought for a moment before deciding to accept.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

1328 quickly jogged over to the stand, bought a red muja fruit, and jogged back to Lana, who was now sitting with her back against the motel's stone wall.

"Why don't you sit down?" she said, patting the ground next to her.

"Um...I..guess." He said, and slowly sat down on the ground next to her. He then removed his helmet, placed it on the ground, and was about to take a large bite out of the ripe fruit when he asked "Would you like some?"

"She smiled slightly "sure."

1328 pulled out his knife, and proceeded to cut the muja fruit in half. Once he finished he handed half of the muja fruit to her. Both of them then began to eat the fruit hungrily. 1328 savored every bite of the ripe fruit. His stomach calmed down now that he had eaten something.

"Thank you, Ma'am" 1328 repeated.

"Don't mention it." Lana said. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Ma'am." 1328 responded.

"What is making you so angry?" She asked.

The question embarrassed 1328. "How did you know I was angry?"

"I sensed it ever since I met you. A deep, almost confused hatr-."

"I got rooms." 1247 said, leaning out the door. "Looks like the storms getting closer."

1328 snatched his helmet up, jumped up and walked quickly inside, not wanting to talk about his personal feelings, or anything for a long while…..

--------------------------------------

sorry if it's a little rushed. I tried to update before I left for vacation.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm really sorry for taking so long, but my school can be a a pain with the amount of work they give you.

1328 was lying down on a small, hard bed made from a deep brown, sandy, stone. He Couldn't stop thinking about what the padawan, Lana Varik, had said to him about his anger. 1328 quietly listened as the furious sandstorm raged violently just outside, but fortunately 1328, along with every other inhabitant in the city, had taken refuge inside their homes, or in one of the many inns. 1328 suddenly sat up, he couldn't lie in the dark, depressing room any longer, he wanted to get out of the small, cold prison and stretch his legs. The utter silence, except for the storm was driving him mad.

He picked his white helmet up off the cold, and slid it over his head. The visor screen inside immediately flickered to life. 1328 then walked slowly, almost cautiously towards the door. The door was no more than a few wooden planks crudely nailed together, and attached to the walls opening. The hinges screeched loudly as 1328 slowly pushed the door open. 1328 looked down both ends of the hallway before just barely spotting a set of stairs at on of the ends. He immediately strolled down the dimly lit hallway, passing doors that looked a lot like the door to his room. 1328 reached the stairs, and as he stepped down them he was not surprised to see the entire room packed full of people, most of the were crowded around the bar, eagerly guzzling down exotic drinks that were handed to them by the barkeeper.

"Hello." an all to familiar voice said behind him. The voice belonged to the person he had been thinking about ever since he had gotten into his room.

"Uh, hi." 1328 said to Lana. "what are you doing down here?"

"Nothing." she said casually. "the rooms are to cramped for my liking."

"Yeah, me too, I guess."

Um, look, uh, I hope I didn't offend you earlier or anything. I didn't mean anything by what I said…"

"It's fine." 1328 replied." I was just surprised. No one's ever read my thoughts before.

"Good, I was worried I had overstepped my boundaries."

"Don't worry about it." 1328 said reassuringly. "it's no prob-"

"Hey, you!" a man, who was flanked by three other ragged, and menacing looking men, yelled across the room at 1328.

"Are you talking to me?" 1328 called back, but not as loud.

"Yeah, you! You aren't allowed here, leave now!"

1328 wasn't entirely sure what to do, he never really had to defuse situations like this before. Before he could say a word Lana stepped in front of him. "He has Just as much of a right to be here as you do."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" the man yelled furiously at the woman who was causing complication for him.

"I'm a member of the Jedi order, and I'll only ask you once more to leave this soldier alone, and be on your way."

The man suddenly began to laugh in an obnoxiously raucous tone. "Looks like we'll be getting a two for one here, boys. You republic fools have caused nothing but trouble for us ever since you landed here. If you two won't listen to us, that can be easily corrected, right fellas?"

The four ragged men quickly whipped out concealed blasters from inside their jackets, and opened fire on Lana, and 1328, this caused everyone in the cantina to start stampeding up the staircase that 1328 had just come down. 1328's soldier training suddenly took over. He grabbed Lana's arm and shoulder, and immediately dove over the cantina's bar, just as the red blaster bolts erupted throughout the cantina. 1328 grunted slightly as he hit the floor, but quickly recovered, to see Lana crouched next to him, her back against the bar. She reached into her robe and drew a small cylindrical piece of metal, which 1328 didn't recognize until she activated it's switch, and a meter long shaft of purple light flooded out of one of it's ends.

1328 reached for his weapon, when suddenly he realized that he had left it back in his room. All he had was his knife.

"Damn!" He cursed to himself mentally.

"Thanks for the save." Lana said without looking at him. "Any ideas of how we're getting out of this one?"

1328 searched his mind for the best possible strategy, taking in every aspect of the situation. "I've got it! Commander, can you kill these lights?"

"sure." she replied. With her free hand, she raised it above her head, and pulled it into a fist. Simultaneously all of the lights in the room shattered immediately, showering bright sparks everywhere, and leaving the entire room pitch black.

1328's helmet's night vision instantly lit his vision up, leaving the attackers at a severe disadvantage. Knife in hand.

1328 turned to Lana and whispered "Turn off your weapon for now, but when I begin attacking I need you to join in."

"Sounds simple enough." she said with slight sarcasm, and let the purple retreat back into the handle.

1328 got up and hopped over the bar. By now the four men had stopped firing for fear of hitting each other in the blinding dark, and were spreading out to search the cantina, intent on finding their targets while 1328 quietly sneaking around them ready to strike at the most opportune moment.

1328 intended to go for the leader of the small gang of men, who, unbeknownst to everyone else, had wandered blindly into a corner of the room. With silent, and deadly efficiency 1328 charged up behind the man and thrust the knife directly into his wrist. Thick red blood splattered onto 1328's armor. The wound caused the leader to immediately drop his blaster pistol in pain, which clattered onto the metal floor. The wounded leader was about howl in pain, but 1328 slammed his armored fist into the man's face, knocking him out cold.

"Now!" 1328 yelled to the bar where Lana was waiting to strike.

With the grace and power known only to wielders of the force Lana leaped over the bar, the purple light from her light saber exposing herself to the remaining three men. They were surprised, but only for a moment and began to raise their weapons at Lana. The padawan extended her free hand at two of the men and unleashed a invisible wave of powerful energy from her fingertips. Both men cried out in surprise as they flew backwards and then in pain as they collided with the hard, stone wall behind them. Lana turned just in time to see the third man's blaster point at her face. He grinned with self satisfaction and squeezed the trigger. Lana leaped back and tilted the purple shaft into the blaster bolt's course, deflecting it harmlessly into the ground. Frustrated, he re-aimed his blaster and was about to fire again, when a small, cold piece of sharp metal pressed itself against his neck. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the defeated man released his finger from the trigger, and slowly raised his hands above his head.

"Drop you weapon." 1328 said calmly through his helmet's voice filter.

The man complied, and quickly dropped his blaster.

"Knock him out." she said to 1328, who cracked the unarmed man over the head, and laid him down on the ground next his companions.

1328 quickly gathered up the gang's blasters, while Lana walked behind the bar, and began looking through the metal compartments.

"Ahh, here's what I was looking for." She said as she held up a small pad and opened it. "I can Contact the local Authorities with this, and they can stick these brutes somewhere where they won't be causing anymore trouble.

"Good idea, commander." 1328 said, as a hand grabbed his shoulder roughly, and shoved him aside. 1328 spun around with his hand clenched into a tight fist, thinking that one of the gang members had regained consciousness and was ready to take one of them out before he was taken away to prison. But as quick as he made the fist, he let it drop, the presumed gang member was actually his superior, 1247, in full body armor, holding his helmet in one hand and his blaster in the other.

"Time to put these beggars out of their misery…" With that said 1247 quickly raised his pistol and fired a shot directly into the leaders chest, His shallow, unconscious breathing coming from his chest quickly faded into a cold lifelessness, the charred hole in his chest still smoking.

1328 was startled by 1247's action, but never fully surprised. He always figured his superior to leave none alive. It made 1328 depressed and alone, because there wasn't anything he could do about it. But Lana's anger suddenly rose up so high that the two clones could feel it.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, determinedly trying to control her anger. "These men are supposed to be put under the local authority's custody!"

"Listen, commander." 1247 said in a rough, almost threatening tone. "This ain't Coruscant, we don't have time nor is it our objective to wait around for the authorities to take these useless peasants away."

As if the discussion was suddenly over 1247 aimed the blaster at the next unconscious victim. He was about to send the man into the afterlife, when out of no where, a beam of purple light was held dangerously close to his neck.

"1247. I am your commander, and you will FOLLOW my orders, am I making myself clear?"

At that moment, the look in 1247's eyes was oddly familiar to 1328, for it was the same look he gave him just before he attacked him out in the desert. 1328 tensed up, thinking that 1247 and the commander were going to settle the confrontation with their weapons, but 1247 suddenly let his arm fall to his side.

"Yes ma'am, understood ." with that said 1247 spun on his heel and marched back up the stairs. 1328 watched his superior go, and then turned to see Lana crouched over the deceased leader of the group. She let out a defeated sigh, stood up and walked over to 1328.

"I'm sorry I got angry. I can't be a capable commander if I can't control my emotions."

1328 didn't know what to say, a Jedi's emotions were much more complicated than a regular person's. "Don't worry commander. I Believe you'll do fine as a leader."

"Thank you." she said, still unsure. "You can call me Lana, commander sounds like something a Jedi master would be named."

"Okay, comman- I mean Lana." 1328 said nervously.

"I'll talk to the authorities when they arrive." Lana said, "you should get some sleep. The sandstorm will be gone before the sun rises tomorrow, and we'll all have to leave by then."

"yes ma'a- Lana." he said still not sure if saying her actual name was appropriate.

1328 tiredly trudged back up the stairs, and towards his dark, depressing room, which seemed to appeal to him a lot more after what happened in the cantina.

_next morning_…

1328 stretched a little as he woke up from sleeping. The room he was in was still as dark as before, but the storm that had been making so much noise yesterday and last night, was silent, and all that he could hear now were the busy people talking as they traveled through the streets.

1328 grabbed his few belongings and ran down the stairs and out the door, not wanting to wait to get fresh air in his lungs, but as he burst through the cantina's doors, he was greeted by the frightened, and hateful stares of all the people around him. Apparently news did spread quickly through this city's streets. every part of 1328's body was telling him to walk back inside and wait for Lana or 1247, but suddenly his comlink came to life, and a an angry voice was talking into it.

"Where are you?!" 1247 demanded.

"Outside the cantina, sir." 1328 replied, quietly.

"Well get your good for nothing' carcass down to the Idiot holding our speeders. The Commander, and I will be waiting for you."

"Yes sir unders-." 1247 broke the connection before 1328 could continue. 1328 let out a sigh and began to trudge through the hateful, glaring crowd. 1328 looked at the ground as he walked down the street, towards the merchant's store. He could feel everyone's stares burning through his armor and into his flesh. Just as 1328 thought he would never get there he spotted something clad in white, and yelling at the same short, bald man who had taken care of their speeders for free. 1328 immediately jogged over to hear what was happening.

"Are you kidding me?!" 1247 yelled in disbelief. "you're charging me this much for this piece of scrap metal?!"

"I'm s-sorry, b-but this is my b-best speeder and I can't give it away f-for free!" the short man said in a shaky voice.

"It's okay." Lana said. "The speeder looks fine to me."

"It doesn't even have any weapons on it!" 1328 blurted out.

"It's FINE." Lana said calmly, ending the dispute. "Here you are, sir. This should also pay for looking after, and fueling their speeders.

The man poked a finger through the handful of credits. "Thank you very much, ma'am!"

"You're welcome." she said politely. "let's get going."

"Yes ma'am." both clones said in unison.

1328 hopped onto his speeder, and activated the high powered engine. He then grabbed the handle bars, accelerated off after 1247, and Lana. 1328 felt relieved as they left the city, and rode across the endless stretch of cracked, sandy ground. The rising sun was now entirely free of the mountain range that covered it only a while ago.

The three travelers rode for another hour, when suddenly 1328's radio came online.

"I've just received word that general Allie, and her escorts have begun there trip to the city." 1247 said.

"Good, looks like this will be a successful mission." 1328 said, happily.

"Yeah and the field HQ just relayed a message to us from Palpatine himself." 1247 said calmly. "It says it's strictly for clone personnel only, that's odd."

"Really?!" 1328 said, interested. "that's never happened before! Play it. Let's hear the message."

1247 played the message into 1328's and his own comlink. A voice very much unlike senator Palpatine's began talking in a low, ominous tone.

" The time has come. Execute order 66."

sorry to leave ya on a cliffhanger, but I need some ideas for the next chapter! if you have any please e-mail me or leave a review (if you want.)


	5. Chapter 5

Ok! I'd like to thank the reviewers, and especially big thanks to enIIgma-chan, for the ideas (which were very helpful!). Sorry this chapter took so long, school can be a real pain sometimes! anyway, hope you enjoy it.

_Execute order 66… _

Something in 1328's mind began to take over. This new wave of thinking began to crush his previous state of mind, slowly squeezing the life out of it. It seemed almost natural that this should happen, like he was expected to undergo this transformation of thinking.

"1328!" a rough voice said over his helmet's comlink. "open fire on the traitor!"

"Traitor?" 1328 thought, looking at the robed person riding ahead of them. "Yes." his new thoughts told him. "She is an arrogant Jedi who would destroy you in a heartbeat, if given the opportunity!"

1328 unconsciously aimed his speeder's twin blasters on the Jedi's speeder bike, about to let loose a wave of blaster fire, when suddenly something flared up in his mind.

"This can't be right!" his old thoughts yelled out in his mind, not completely destroyed by his new ones. "The Jedi have always fought for the republic!

1247 began yelling to him over the comlink. "Trooper, I am giving you an order! Shoot!"

"S-Sir, this doesn't make any sense! How can we be sure that-"

"1328! This is your last warning! Open fire, or be branded a traitor to the republic, like the rest of the Jedi!"

1328's trigger finger shook as he struggled not only to fight this new order that was destroying his inner sense of right and wrong, but to stop him self from killing Lana. If the Jedi were planning to overthrow the republic, 1328 refused to believe that Lana had known about it.

Suddenly his finger relaxed. "This isn't who I am….." 1328 finally convinced himself.

1328 spoke to his superior. "I..I can't do it….I won't do it!"

There was a few seconds of radio silence which seemed to stretch on forever until 1247's voice finally began to say something. "You know, I always thought that bringing you into this world was a waste of time and effort, you were cannon fodder, as far as I was concerned. But now I can see that you're no more than a good for nothing _traitor…_"

"_Shut up…."_ 1328 mumbled, desperately trying to keep his anger from getting the best of him.

"I should've shot you myself a LONG time ago. I doubt command would kick up any fuss over scum, but now that you're a traitor to our cause I'll probably get a medal for my "brave" and "just" actions."

"_Shut up." _he growled, much louder than before.

"And you know what else?" 1247 said, still not listening to 1328's warnings. "The one person I want a rotting corpse more than you, is _HER._." 1247 tilted his head in Lana's direction, who was riding further ahead of the two troopers. "I'd give anything just to slowly choke the life out of her pitiful body." he shrugged. "Oh well, looks like I'll just have to settle on a smoking hole in her head." 1247 began reaching for his blaster.

1328 didn't know what he was doing at that moment. His anger quickly evaporated into fear for Lana's life. "NO!" 1328 yelled, as he swerved his speeder bike into 1247's, sparks flew though the air as both speeders grinded into each other. 1247 grunted in surprise as his bike was slammed by the other trooper. He let go of his bike's steering vanes and threw a blind punch at his attacker, which 1328 blocked quickly. "You may have beat me last time." 1328 thought confidently. "But this time I'm ready…"

Hearing the sudden sounds behind her, Lana turned her head to see the two clone troopers fighting each other angrily. She activated her lightsaber and decreased her bike's speed to get closer and hopefully stop the fight. "What are you doing?!" She yelled over the powerful engines.

"Stay back!" 1328 yelled as he blocked another punch. "He's trying to kill us! They all are!"

"Who?!" She yelled.

Before he could answer he yelled "look out!" and pointed at a large fork in the path. Lana whipped her bike to the right, narrowly missing the center of the fork. 1328 was about to follow after her when 1247 grabbed both his and 1328's steering vane, and angled them off to the left.

"It's just you and me now!" he said menacingly. He pulled out his pistol without 1328 noticing and discharged a blue bolt at his head. The laser came so close to hitting 1328's face that he could feel the heat coming off the laser through his armor. 1328 grabbed the blaster before he could fire another shot, and tried to wrench it from his hand.

Both troopers fought over the pistol as their bikes rocketed down the narrow path. Just when 1328 had almost pulled the weapon away, 1247 drew his arm in and rammed his elbow into 1328's face. Although the surprising blow hadn't injured 1328, it had stunned him for a few moments which 1247 used to his advantage. He grabbed the dazed clone's neck and began repeatedly belting him across the face. 1328 felt himself slipping into darkness…

"WAKE UP!" his mind screamed, pulling him away from unconsciousness. "If you black out it's all over!"

1328 sharpened up just as his assailant was throwing another punch. At the last moment 1328 leaned away, breaking 1247's now loose grip, and moving his head away from the fist's path, he unsheathed his knife and quickly aimed it for his exposed throat, which was not protected by their armor, but only their black jumpsuits. With all the strength left in him he swung the knife in a backwards slash. The blade easily sliced through the thick jumpsuit and into his into his throat. As he dislodged the blood coated knife with a quick jerk, a cold shiver crawled up his back. Dark, red blood began to seep from the wound, as 1247 put his hand over it and tried to stay conscious. His next action surprised 1328. With his other hand he weakly pulled his helmet off and let it fall to the ground. It quickly disappeared into their dusty trail. 1328 looked his dying superior in the eye, and sensed only one emotion. It was stronger than any weapon he could think of, or any enemy he fought. It was what fueled him, sustained him, and most of all, it gave him power. It was _hate_ 1328 saw in his eyes, and only hate. Colder than Hoth, and hotter than Tatooine, 1247's venomous hatred for 1328 seemed to keep him alive until he finally let out his last gurgling breath, his body slumped over on his, still moving, speeder.

1328 looked ahead to see a large rock jutting from out of the ground, with a sickening crunch 1247's speeder and the boulder collided. At the speed he was going tempered steel bent, tore, and crumpled like paper. 1328 could only steal a glance before the speeder's fuel tank ignited, filling his visor with bright light, as the speeder erupted in flames, and sprayed large pieces of debris in every direction. 1328, blinded by the light couldn't react in time to avoid the sharp piece of metal that was thrown in his direction.

1328 cried out in pain as the lethal projectile easily sliced through the jumpsuit between his armor plates, and lodged itself in his body. 1328 gritted his teeth as he touched the piece of metal. It immediately sent a shockwave of blinding pain through out his body.

"I…I..have to stop for a bit…." he brought his speeder to a halt, and slowly got off, even though every sense in him pleaded with him to keep going. As his feet touched the ground, he found he had no strength in them, and fell on to his back. 1328 looked up at the sky to see carrion birds circling over him. He felt like the clone he had found in the desert a few nights ago. Forgotten , and waiting for the planet's wildlife to claim him.

1328 had trouble believing what had just transpired. He had always thought that he would die in the middle of a huge battle, or even in a speeder accident rather than killing his superior to save his commander who was probably miles away by now. Why didn't he shoot? Why didn't he just pull the trigger and be done with it? He didn't think he would ever know…

The terrible pain had melted away into a slow throbbing, each one scraping away a little more of his life. 1328 didn't do anything but breath, he knew he was dead, you pretty much had to accept it if you were a clone trooper, your life existed around death…

As 1328 closed his eyes to sleep, he heard something familiar in the distance, it sounded like a speeder engine. The sound quickly got louder as it approached 1328. 1328 grunted as he tilted his head up to get a better look at what now he was certain was a speeder. The speeder came close and stopped very quickly, the rider jumped off with equal speed, and knelt down at 1328's blood stained side.

"1328!" Lana said, her voice riddled with concern. "Hold on. Please….."

Because the piece of metal pinned 1328's armor to his body, Lana didn't know how to take off 1328's armor without making the wound worse. she bit her lower lip then took a deep breath, and put both of her hands on the wound.

1328 felt odd, almost weightless as if something invisible was picking him up and holding him just over the ground. He tilted his head to Lana who had both of her hands on his wound, and her eyes were closed in deep concentration. Light began to leap down her arms and into his wound. The light felt like cool water on his injury. As soon as all the light had entered his wound, she put her hands on the jagged piece of metal and slowly began to pull it out, as the bloody wound began to close. Lana looked down , and smiled weakly as she saw 1328's chest slowly begin to rise and fall. her breathing, on the other hand was very quick, and heavy, because she had just been taught this healing technique. It was still difficult for her to use the force in that way, and on a wound that mortal.

"I feel….good!" 1328 thought, surprised as he looked down at where his injury used to be, now there was nothing except hiw torn jumpsuit. He sat up and looked at Lana, who was looking back at him.

"What just happened?" He said, as the wind began to howl slightly. "I really thought I was a goner…"

1328 was even more surprised when Lana threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're still with me." she said, almost a whisper.

1328 didn't know what to do. He never knew anyone who was glad to have him around, his dead superior, the citizens of the republic, even the other clones tended to steer away from him if they could, but for the first time he saw Lana Varik not as his noble Jedi commander, but as a person he would hope to call his friend. He was glad he was with her too.

Suddenly the howling wind began to pick up, blowing sand in every direction. A sandstorm.

"This looks bad." 1328 said, as Lana helped him up. " If this is a sandstorm, then we need to find shelter."

Lana thought for a second. "I remember passing a small cave on the path I was going down when we were separated. It seemed deserted."

"that'll be our best bet." 1328 concluded, as he slowly mounted his speeder, the scar left from the wound still ached slightly. "I'll follow you."

She nodded her approval, quickly jumped on her speeder, and began riding back in the direction she came. 1328 took off after her. They would have to find this cave soon. If the wind got any worse they wouldn't be able to see where they were going.

After a few minutes of riding, Lana pointed toward what looked like a crack in the side of a small cliff on their left. But as they got closer, the crack opened up into a good sized cave opening. 1328 activated his night vision, as he looked down the cave. Lana was right it was deserted.

"let's head in." he said as the storm began to pick up. "this storms not gonna stay this way for much longer."

"Yeah, then we'll be able to understand this whole situation better."

Almost as if the storm was waiting for them to get inside, it suddenly let out all of it's devastating power, and fury, wind ripping across the land, anything caught in this storm would surely be dead. 1328 thought back to his commander, whose charred corpse would probably be covered over in sand by the time the storm was over.

1328 and Lana dismounted their speeders and began to walked over to a small open area where the rocks were smooth.

"I've got some food I picked up back in the spaceport, it's somewhere on my speeder, we just have to make a fire." Lana said.

1328 raised his hand. "I'll handle that. There's got to be something to burn in this cave…"

After trekking deeper into the cave, 1328 returned a few minutes later, with an armful of, dry plants. "these should burn nicely."

"Great!" she said. "Pile them in the center for me." once the plants were grouped together on the ground, Lana activated her lightsaber, the bright light immediately lit up the area around them in rays of purple. She slowly touched the tip of her blade to the pile of plants, they immediately combusted into red flames. She deactivated her lightsaber and sat down near it with a small sack.

"Here." Lana offered, handing up a large piece of bread. "I picked it up in town before we left. It's a little stale, but it's better than nothing."

1328 quickly sat down, took off his helmet and bit into the bread hungrily, he Chewed thoughtfully for a while, and looked at Lana, she had kneeled down on both knees, and was watching the small fire as the flames leaped about in a hypnotic dance. 1328 hadn't been in the company of a "natural" person for very long, but he could tell she was in deep thought over something.

"So." 1328 said, breaking the silence. "What do you think's going on?"

Lana shrugged. "I don't know. But it can't be good." She looked at 1328. "Why, exactly, did 1247 want to kill me?"

"I'm not sure. We were riding behind you and all of a sudden we got a transmission all the way from Coruscant, rerouted from the HQ. It was a message from Chancellor Palpatine. He said something about executing an "order 66". I'd never heard of that order before but as soon as he said it, 1247 told me that you were a traitor of the republic, and commanded me to open fire on you."

"I see." She said, nodding slightly. "I'm not sure, but if my accusations and what your saying is correct, then we may have a full scale insurrection on our hands, organized by the chancellor…."

"But, why?" 1328 said, as he got up, not quite sure he believed entirely what she was saying.

She was just about to answer him, when a beeping sound resonated down the cave. Lana stood up, and walked down the cave. "Hold on, it's my comlink." She said.

1328 let out a long sigh. _"What's happening?" He thought. "Maybe it's a message from central command, saying how this is all a mistake, and everything's been taken, and not to worry…Yeah right. They might as well say the war's over."_

Lana grabbed the comlink off of her speeder's seat where she had apparently left it. She activated it, and listened intently as a low voice mumbled to her, to incoherent for him to catch a word of what he was saying. When the message was apparently over, Lana walked back over to him. "The message was from the Jedi temple on Coruscant. They're ordering all remaining Jedi return to the temple."

1328 thought for a moment. "_Remaining? What does she mean by that?…. _So how do we get there? If the HQ doesn't get a report from me or 1247, they're going to assume we died and you're still alive. They'll then assume that you're heading back to your ship and order the authorities to hold onto it until they get troops there."

Lana looked 1328 in the eyes, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sensing this isn't going to be an easy task, to complete…If you want to, 1328 you can go back to the HQ. I won't judge, or blame you. This isn't your fight."

For a slight moment 1328 thought. _ "Is it possible could I go back to the way things were and try to forget this mess?" _Something deep inside rose up, and steeled him from the temptation. "No." 1328 said flatly, his mind made up. "Your fight is my fight. You're my…Well, you're my friend, and I'm ready to stand beside you, through no matter what!"

Both of them stood there, only the storm's furious wind could be heard. 1328 felt accepted as Lana once again embraced him. "Thank you." She said, her arms still wrapped around him. _"I don't know what I'd do without you…."_

With those final words said, 1328 was certain of his decision. "C'mon" He said. "The storm's dying down. We should get some shut eye before it's gone and we have to go."

­­­­­­­

1247 coughed up another mouthful of blood. He was able to crawl away from the crash site, and hide under a nearby, rocky outcropping before the storm buried his speeder. He had been going in and out of consciousness four hours, and couldn't feel half of his badly burned body. 1247 saw with relief as the sand being whipped in every direction by the wind, began to substantially die down. He couldn't move his right arm, so with his left he reached into one of his belt's compartments and pulled out a small disk like device. It was badly damaged by the crash, but now that the sandstorm was weakened it's signal might be heard by any active, nearby patrols.1247 pushed the button, just before losing consciousness once again. He woke up to the sound of a cold, familiar voice. "Wake up." It said. "You're not dead."

1247 opened one of his eyes, seeing only a blurred figure in front of him. When his vision focused, the figure turned out to be none other than CC-8826, or commander Neyo to some.

"What happened?" He said impatiently. "why can't I open my other eye?"

""you were so badly damaged when we found you we considered leaving you for dead….But it seemed more logical to keep you alive." Neyo said, as cold as the droids they were fighting. "we got you back but places on you were damaged beyond repair, your throat had to be extensively grafted. Your left eye and most of your right arm had to be removed…your limb's been replaced with a mechanical counterpart, but nothing can be done about your eye."

1247 brought his right arm into view. A silver robotic copy of his arm, reached almost up to his shoulder. "Damn him…." 1247 growled furiously. "I'll _kill_ him!"

""Kill who?" Neyo said, actually interested in what the mangled trooper had to say.

"The Jedi and that traitorous clone, 1328! He caused my crash and has allied himself with that decieving Jedi!"

Neyo thought calmly for only a moment. "I'll have my men scour the surrounding desert for them, we can't let either of them escape."

"No!" 1247, yelled indignantly. I know how they both think. I'll be able to find them much quicker than a full scale searching party. Just give me ten of your best men."

Neyo stood there for a while coldly calculating which option benefited him the most. "….Fine…" He said at last. "But I want the Jedi alive. It may know the locations of other hiding Jedi.

"And what about the clone?"

"He is of no importance…Do what you want with him…"

A maniacal grin stretched across his face, as he hopped off of the med-center bed. "Tell the troops to get ready. We're leaving in less than an hour."

Neyo turned briskly and began to walk away.

"Oh. And, Commander?"

"What?" He turned back around.

"I need a gun…"

Well there it is! please review! it'll make the story better, or leave me an email with a few ideas.


	6. Chapter 6

The bright, burning Sun had only slightly risen over the distant mountain range, and, already 1328, riding on his speeder bike, could feel the hot rays beating down on him, and his constricting, white armor. Lana, who was riding ahead and slightly to the right, had shed her large, uncomfortable robe, for her simple, light brown tunic, and pants.

Lana raised her hand, signaling for them to stop. Both riders pulled over near a large boulder, and Lana quickly dismounted. "This heat feels like it could be trouble." She said. "We need to find some water before we can continue."

1328 looked around the surrounding area skeptically. "The time I've been here I've hardly seen anything that could serve as a suitable water supply. Makes me wonder how all of those plants survive…"

She bit her lower lip and thought for a moment. "Well, we still need to find something that'll help us last longer against this heat." She looked over at two uneven paths that took different directions around a gradually sloping, rocky hill. "Alright. We'll each take a different path and meet up on the other side. Keep your comlink on, in case either of us find anything."

"Okay." 1328 said evenly, as both of got back onto their speeders and each rode down the different paths….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A lone clone trooper stood, rigidly, on the edge of a cliff, looking emotionlessly down at the distant, dry, cracked land that lay before him.

"Sir!" A trooper called as he slid to a halt behind 1247, carrying a regulation DC-15A blaster rifle. "We've found sand trails, they're old, but only by an hour, or two. Judging by this, and our maps, we've concluded they're going to head through "Renner's Pass", we suspect this is the quickest way back to the spaceport."

"Fine, but how long will it take for us to catch up with them?"

"We don't know, Sir, but we thi-"

"Then what are you all doing standing around?!" 1247 spat. "Take three men to go and chase them out. I'll wait with the "cavalry" at the other end. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" The trooper said, before turning and running off.

"Fools." 1247 thought while observing the clones that were preparing to leave. He doubted they would live through this mission, but 1247 was unconcerned as long as he brought back the Jedi, and more importantly, got revenge on that cannon fodder, 1328.…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

His speeder bike hummed quietly as 1328 rode it down the center of the sandy path. "I wonder if Lana found any water.." he activated his comlink "Find anything yet?"

1328 rode in silence for a moment before her voice clearly sounded in. "No, not yet. Our paths should be meeting up soon, so just keep heading the way you-Woah!"

1328 halted the bike quickly. "What's wrong? Are you alright?!"

"Yeah…" She said in a noticeably relieved tone. "I'm sending you my co-ordinates. You need to see this!"

"Wait! What is it?" 1328 was answered by static. He sighed deeply, as he accelerated his speeder bike, reading the co-ordinates off the inside of his helmet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The four clones rode down had been following the two old speeder trails for around an hour. The leader, on point, activated his helmet comlink, and contacted 1247. "Sir we believe the targets are close, if we locate them should we engage?"

"No. attack the clone if he becomes trouble, but the Jedi should be your top priority. Make sure she continues to the end of the pass that's where we'll spring the trap."

"Understood, Sir."

"Good." 1247 said, his voice as mechanical as his arm's metal replacement. Although 1247 wanted to end 1328's life personally, he wouldn't waste his time if 1328 couldn't put up a fight like before. "Those four clones-" 1247 thought "-should be a perfect test to make sure 1328 was ready for a second round."

1247 relaxed his muscles. No one was going to be here for at least another half-hour, he might as well kick back, and enjoy the silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hmm…well, these ones are definitely deactivated…" 1328 said, as he identified the different battle droids filling up the large, open cave. He unsheathed his knife, and slid it under a small. Metal panel on the droids lower back. "But let's find out why."

It was right now that 1328 really wished he had his tool set with him. It was a very rare occasion to get a chance to open up a fully intact battle droid, most of them ended up in numerous pieces, or destroyed by some explosion, before any of us could get our hands on them.

Lana walked over and watched curiously at what he was doing. "How are you going to figure that out?"

"Well.." 1328 began without looking up from what he was doing. "Most droids I've heard of, or worked on, have had some kind of status readout device, most of the time hidden under a panel similar to this one. If my guess is correct there should be one in here somewhere, it records all incoming transmissions and signals."

"Wow! Didn't know you were also a mechanic." She joked. Looking as the panel popped out and hit the ground with a _clank!_

1328 chuckled. "I'm no mechanic. Most of what I know is from taking apart utility droids, and equipment, too damaged to be used again. It's just something I like doing." 1328 yanked out a thick screen of wires blocking his way, and began feeling around for the hidden device. After a few moments of searching 1328 pulled out a small screen no larger than a datapad, attached to the inside of the droid by a thick cable.

He handed the device to Lana, who began scrolling down to the last order given. "Well, this is odd.." she said, slightly puzzled by what the last order read. "The last order given, was from the droid control ship…It says that "ALL DROID UNITS MUST SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELLY." Why would the separatists disable their own army?" Do you think it's some kind of malfunction?

"I'm not sure." He said, getting back onto his feet. "Do you think they're building a new army?"

"I..I don't know." she said unsure. "I think the best thing right now will be to get off this planet, and back to Coruscant. That's the only place right now where I think we could get some honest answers."

"Yeah, alright then." 1328 agreed. "But first we need to find some water. I have an idea."

"Let's hear it!" Lana said enthusiastically. "I'm all out of ideas!"

"The droid I just opened was a B1, a main infantry unit, but have you seen any B2's? They're bulkier, and have a dark blue color."

"Of course." She said, as she brushed lock of hair away from her face. "They're further back in the cave. I explored a little while you where still on you way here."

"That's good." 1328 said. "The B1 models here have very basic parts, and mechanics." 1328 gestured slightly to one of the slouching, deactivated ones.

"But how is that good for us?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"Well, those B2's in the back, require more sophisticated, and expensive parts. Each one has a liquid cooling system the keeps them from over heating. Normally, it's filled with a special coolant, but droids sometimes have to use other liquids when they are cut off from supplies, a lot like these ones."

"Hmm… Can this substitute be water?"

"Well, most likely." 1328 said.

"They're this way. C'mon, I'll show you!" She said, excited.

1328 followed closely behind Lana, as she led him further into the cave. Just as the light coming from the cave entrance began to fade, and 1328 considered turning on his lowlight vision, Lana walked into what looked like the end of the cave. She began feeling around on a certain side of the wall.

"Ah! Here it is!" She said, after a moment of searching. With one hand she pulled down a small lever, and lights came to life throughout the cave. "Good thing they rigged these up before they were deactivated, eh?"

1328 grinned under his helmet. "Definitely." He agreed.

1328 noticed that a large amount of beaten up containers were all piled at the back of the cave. "We should check those containers for water." He said as he pointed. "Just make sure you tell the difference between water and whatever coolant they have left. Both look the same."

1328 and Lana started searching through the containers on opposite ends of the large pile. 1328 pulled up the rectangular lid of the container, as it opened with a reluctant screech. 1328 peered in to see a small amount of clear liquid, only filling an eighth of the large container. 1328 took off his helmet, and dabbed on of his gloved fingers into the liquid. He hesitantly tasted the liquid, it was the only test 1328 knew that didn't require a computer. Just as soon as 1328 tasted the mysterious clear liquid, he spat it out onto the cave floor, disgusted.

"Ugh! Never knew something could be so sour! And burn that much!" The clone spat again, unsuccessful in his attempt of ridding his mouth of the terrible taste.

"Are you okay, 1328?" Lana asked, as she looked up from a container full of old spare parts.

"Yeah. I found the container with the coolant, so the next clear liquid should be water. Let's keep looking."

1328 noticed an especially beaten up looking container jutting out of the bottom of the pile. With both hands, he grabbed the side handle heaved hard. The old container moved a little further out of pile, but it wasn't out yet. 1328 gave one more strong pull, and the container broke free of the surrounding pile.

1328 took a knee in front of the old container. With both hands 1328 opened up the lid, which looked about ready to fall off. 1328 looked in surprise at what he found. The container was full of weapons, but not just any weapons, republic weapons! There was everything from DC-15A's to WESTAR M5's!

1328 was about to move on to the next container when he glanced at belt holster with two DC-17 hand blasters. 1328 thought about it for a moment and then snatched up the belt. With his free hand he un-holstered one of the blasters. 1328 closely examined it, he'd only seen this type of blaster once before when He was providing cover for an ARC trooper during a firefight. With a small inward sigh he put the guns and belt down. "Keep looking…" He thought

After going through a few more containers, 1328 finally struck gold. He opened the lid to find a container nearly filled with a clear, cool liquid. "I think I found it!" He said, with a slight amount of relief in his voice.

Lana immediately stopped looking and quickly made her way over to him. She cupped her right hand and scooped up a small amount of the liquid. Cautiously she sipped down the liquid. After a few moments she let out a long breath. "Refreshing!" She said, ready to take a lot more this time. "I've got some canteens we can fill up."

"Great! 1328 said enthusiastically. Now we can get out of here and back to the spaceport. Then we're off to Coruscant." 1328 thought about what he said, then realized something. "I've never been to Coruscant. What's it like."

Lana chuckled as she filled up two large canteens. "Well most of my time there was spent in the Jedi Temple, but outside of it can be very daunting. Not a great place if you're scared of heights, but it can also be very beautiful when you find the righ-…." Lana all of a sudden stopped talking. She was standing very rigidly, like she had heard a sound that no one else could hear. "…We need to leave…Now!"

1328 tilted his head slightly "Why? What's wrong?" his muscles began to tighten, and he could feel his heart begin to pick up.

Eyes closed, and with her hand pressed lightly against her temple. She began to concentrate deeply. "There's three- no, wait...four. They're moving fast….towards us…" her expression changed, like she was snapping out of a deep trance. "Let's go!"

Lana quickly headed for their speeder bikes. 1328 was about to follow when he spotted the two DC-17's again. He knew had to leave, but curiosity got the best of him. He quickly snatched up the belt holding the blasters, strapped it around his waist, and ran after Lana. "I hope she doesn't notice…"

1328 found Lana storing the canteens in a compartment on her speeder. 1328 swiftly mounted his speeder, and powered it up. Lana did the same after a moment.

"I've checked the maps." She said "The only way that'll get us to the spaceport is a small canyon trail to the west. I'll lead us through there."

"Yes, Ma'am." 1328 said automatically. He knew Lana preferred he call her by her own name, but for now "Ma'am" was much simpler.

Lana turned the speeder around and shot off down the small, rocky canyon. 1328 quickly accelerated after her, looking back to see four white-clad soldiers zooming down the path towards them. "Uh-oh."

"We've got company!" 1328 yelled to Lana as the four clones, who were catching up, began an attack formation.

"Blast him!" The lead clone commanded. His command was met with a wave of burning hot blaster bolts being fired at 1328.

With 1328's training springing into his head, he evaded the shots with ease. "Hmm…" He thought quickly "These are just infantry clones. When we're on speeder bikes I should have the advantage!" 1328 looked behind patiently as he waited for an opening in their basic formation. "There!" He thought, as he squeezed the brakes. He watched as his four assailants flew right passed him, not even realizing what happened until it was too late.

"Ha! Rookie mistake!" 1328 yelled as He squeezed the trigger and watched as his blasters tore apart one of the unfortunate clone's speeders. The speeder burst into flames, engulfing the driver, and killing him almost instantly.

The other three took this chance to shorten the distance between them and Lana who was riding ahead, lightsaber in her free hand.

"You're not getting away that easy!" 1328 thought, as he increased his speed to line up his speeder's blaster cannon.

One of the troopers, pulled a small holdout blaster, from his belt, and fired off an accurate shot at the pursuing clone, who ducked quickly, barely dodging the bright red bolt. 1328 responded by firing back. The clone quickly leaned to his left, separating himself from his two comrades, but saving himself from being torn apart by the powerful cannon. He fired another shot at 1328, which he wasn't prepared to dodge this time. 1328 grunted as the shot impacted onto his shoulder armor. Fortunately his armor absorbed most of it, leaving only a large scorch mark.

"I can't let that happen again…" 1328 thought as his shoulder throbbed in dull pain. He reached down and pulled out one of the DC-17's, hesitant if he should use it before even practicing with it. Knowing this was the worst time to be thinking about that, 1328 lined up the blaster, aiming for the rider atop the speeder bike. Holding in a deep breath, 1328 squeezed the trigger. His aiming was spot on, the blue lasers collided with the white clad target like a hailstorm. The clone's lifeless body slid off the seat and collided with the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a halt. The speeder bike, however, now driverless flew uncontrollably into the canyon wall, spraying pieces of metal in the air, which 1328 made sure he steered clear of….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1247 was absent mindedly cleaning out the sand from his new gun. "What I'd give for a gun that didn't get sand in it…." he mumbled.

1247 continued his repetitive task, when suddenly someone called to him on his helmet comlink. "Sir? Sir, are you there?" the familiar voice called.

1247 activated his comlink. "Yes, what is it? What's your position?"

"Were close. The Jedi's almost reached the end of the canyon."

"Good, make sure they get there."

"Underst-" the clone said as 1247 broke off his connection, and walked over to a pair of clone wearing open faced, orange visor helmets, baggy jumpsuits, and an array of electronics hanging from them.

"You two." He began as they stopped what they were doing, and stood at attention. "They're close. Get ready. You know what to do."

"Yes sir!" both said in unison before running off.

"Everyone get to the ship! And be ready! I can here them coming!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With two troopers gone, the fight had turned tides. Lana swooped over to the leftwhile breaking in one graceful motion, bringing herself next to one trooper, and more importantly, within striking distance.

The trooper withdrew a small holdout blaster, intent on putting some distance between him and the Jedi. Before he could squeeze the trigger, Lana swung the blade upward, accurately slicing the small weapon in two. As the unarmed clone reached for his rifle strapped across his speeder, he yelled in surprise as Lana planted her foot, directly into his chest, causing him to fall off of his speeder. 1328 whizzed past the fallen soldier, who had not moved. He felt a small pang of guilt to leave him there, but it quickly ceased, he had other things to worry about.

Lana, using the force, delicately squeezed the brake bringing the rider-less speeder to a halt, safely.

"Nice work!" 1328 complimented as he caught up to her.

"Thanks." She said, glancing to the last trooper, who had sped up ahead to where the canyon opened up into flat land. "We need to stop him. He'll give away our co-ordinates!"

"Right!" 1328 said. "We can catch him before he contacts the others. Let's go!"

Lana and 1328 began chase after the lone trooper, when a large craft pulled our from hiding, brisling with weaponry that was all aimed at them….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

From where 1247 was standing he could only get a glimpse of the two targets barreling towards them. "Shoot them!" He yelled.

The co-pilot and forward gunners replied with a hailstorm of laser fire, turning the relatively silent atmosphere into a heated war zone.

1247 watched carefully as the two rider scattered in different directions, barely passing the wave of fire. The aggravated clone leader, looked on as the two traitors shot towards an almost unrecognizable sliver in the distance. "They're heading straight for the spaceport! Stop them! They're not getting off this rock!"

The pilot expertly swung the deadly gunship from a steady hover to a fast, low altitude. 1247 walked up behind the pilot, to get a better view through the cockpit. He noticed the Jedi was wielding her lightsaber, and she seemed to be slowing down, trying to get close enough to damage the ship.

"Pull up." 1247 said to the pilot, who obeyed, obviously knowing what destructive power the weapon contained within it's elegant blade. Pulling up 1247 called down to the co-pilot. "Are you still within effective range?"

"Affirmative, Sir! But aren't we supposed to take them alive, sir?"

"…..I'm sorry, but did you just question my orders?" 1247 said, voice, razor sharp.

"Uh, n-no, Sir! Engaging targets." The pilot complied, hastily aiming the twin laser cannons at the two spots, each leading a trail of dust…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think that bought us a little time." Lana said, relieved.

1328 pulled up next to her. "Yeah, but we need to speed up! I've seen that maneuver many times, they hide in the sunlight, and strike where we can't see them."

"Stay close. I have an idea." She began to use her lightsaber to carefully wield her speeder's steering vanes in place.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at her then at her speeder.

"Making a distraction." She said. Satisfied with her work, she stood up onto the seat, and gracefully jumped onto the back of his speeder. She sat down, facing the opposite direction. "Go as fast as you can to the spaceport when I give the signal."

"What's the signal?" 1328 said, still uncertain as to what she was planning.

"You'll know." She said, grinning slightly. Using her legs to steady herself, Lana reached out with both hands, and concentrated deeply.

1328, watched in amazement as an unseen energy began to whip across the ground kicking up sand and dirt into great, thick clouds. Concentrating harder, the energy became more violent, lashing the ground into the air like- "A sandstorm!" 1328 realized finally. This would be there chance to escape. 1328 leaned down.

"Hang on!" He yelled as he accelerated to the highest velocity possible on the speeder bike. The colors around him began to meld into one large blur, but 1328 would not lose sight of the spaceport in front of him, which was slowly starting to look larger in size.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir, we have a problem!" the co-pilot yelled.

"What is it?!" 1247 roared, becoming very close to tossing the co-pilot out of the ship.

"I can't see them! There's large cloud of dust blocking my view!"

"Use the thermal scan to find there speeder's. they're hiding inside." the angry clone concluded.

"Yes, sir!" the co-pilot obeyed. After a moment He called back again. "There's a heat signature coming from inside. It's on the move."

"Open fire." 1247 ordered coldly.

Within moments, laser fire tore through the cloud, shredding the target to pieces. "Target neutralized, Sir."

"Check." 1247 said evenly. "I want to know which one's dead."

"Magnifying, scope, Sir." The co-pilot searched the wreckage for a long moment. "There's no one there."

"What?!" 1247 yelled. "That's impossible! Where did they go."

"I don't know, Sir. Maybe they- Wait…There, Sir! In the distance." the co-pilot said, as he spotted a small figure and a trail of dust speeding off towards the spaceport.

"After them! This was a decoy!" 1247 snarled, rage boiling inside him. He would catch them, or they wouldn't leave this planet alive…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We made it!" 1328 yelled triumphantly, as Him and Lana entered the spaceport through the gate.

"We're not safe yet." Lana reminded him. "We need to get to the docking bay. We can stowaway on one of the supply transports when we get there."

"Right!" The clone said. He sped up as the crowd began to part for him, eyes glaring at him with contempt. "I'll never get used to the staring." 1328 thought.

After weaving through the city streets, the docking bay was finally in sight. Right across from what looked like the town square. Lana hopped off and put a reassuring hand on 1328's shoulder.

"I'm sorry 1328, but I don't think we can take that speeder with us. You'll have to leave it behind."

1328 dismounted, and looked at his speeder bike one more time. "It's alright." He said. "There's more important things to worry about now."

1328 felt a warm hand gently hold his. He knew who it was, and it made him smile under his helmet. As the two of them strolled through the crowd towards the docking bay doors, they're happiness was shattered as the gunship they had evaded earlier, swooped down like a predator, and hovered low, In front of the docking bay doors.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the pilot landed between the fleeing traitors, and the docking bay doors, 1247 began to call out orders.

"co-pilot. Open fire." 1247 commanded.

"But, Sir…there's civilians here. One of them might ge-" The co-pilot began to protest, before a blue laser bolt fried the back of his head. He slumped over in his seat, dead.

1247 holstering a smoking pistol looked at the other clones. "Does anyone else want to voice their concern?"

The four remaining infantry clones jumped out of the gunship and opened fire on the two targets, regardless of who got in their line of fire.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Take cover!" 1328 shouted, as him and Lana sprinted in opposite directions. 1328 ran towards a small house. He doubted the door would be open so he leaped through the only window, landing with a small grunt. Taking cover behind the wall next to the opening, 1328 un-holstered his two pistols. He cautiously peaked his head out to see Lana, standing behind an old land speeder, fearlessly blocking laser bolts, fired by the white-clad soldiers. The clones appeared to be focusing on Lana instead of himself, and 1328 decided to use this to his advantage He jumped in front of the window with both guns blazing. And began to fire. The shots weren't meant to be accurate, but to take some of the firepower off of Lana. He was pleased, as two out of the four clones moved to fire on him. Before taking cover again, 1328 fired off a few bursts, and watched as his shots caught one of the advancing clones square in the chest. Dropping him immediately. 1328 retreated to safety inside the house as the second clone opened fire.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Looks like I'll have to do this myself…" 1247 growled. He walked to the ships storage compartment and grabbed a very deadly Z-6 rotary blaster cannon, along with a class-E thermal detonator. After putting the Z-6's strap on his shoulder, 1247 hopped off of the gunship, and immediately began to let loose wave after wave of blue laser bolts on the clone inside the house, who he knew was traitorous piece of scum, 1328.

"Keep firing!" He yelled out to the three remaining clones, as he primed the small explosive. "Time to smoke you out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328 was almost killed from the last barrage of laser fire. Whoever was firing that blaster was mad. He was beginning to plan out his next move when he heard something coming from the back of the room. It sounded like crying. 1328 almost didn't see her, she was so small. Huddled in the corner, behind an old wooden table was a little girl, who looked no older than five. She was crying uncontrollably, and her face was streaked with dirt, and tears.

He walked over to her very slowly. "Don't cry." He said in the gentlest tone he could muster at the moment. "Everything's going to be alright."

Just as he finished his last sentence a small sphere-shaped object land in the center of the room. Knowing immediately what it was 1328 tried to toss it back out the window. To his horror, he realized the detonator had attached itself to the surface it landed on. Making a split decision 1328 kicked the table over on it's side, grabbed the little girl, despite her screaming, and huddled behind the table, waiting a few more agonizing moments before a deafening explosion happened, and 1328 blacked out….

_"Is he alright?"_

_"I don't know. Help me pick him up."_

1328 groaned as he began to regain consciousness. He looked up to see a variety of people looking down at him.

"Ugh…What happened?" the dazed trooper asked.

"Are you hurt? Can you breath, okay?" A rugged looking man asked him.

"Uh, yeah…Where am I?"

"You're in the town square. I owe you much gratitude. You saved my daughter."

1328 head ached. "Who are you. I'm the city's only doctor. We dug through the rubble after the fighting ended, and we found you protecting my Ceena from the explosion with your own body. I owe you much more than my thanks.

"Don't worry about it. I was ju-" 1328 suddenly remembered what had been happening. "Where's Lana!? She was with me before the explosion! Where did she go?!"

After a moment of silence a younger, but dirtier man stepped forward. "Wh-When the explosion happened, the girl with the sword ran over to dig you out, but got hit, by a green blaster shot by one of the soldiers, and fell down. They carried her onto the ship and left.

"Green blaster shot?" 1328 thought. "A stun bolt"

"Before they left." The doctor said. "They mentioned something about a "Venator star destroyer" coming for the prisoner. Do you know what that means?"

1328's heart sank. He realized, with dread that he had lost. There was no way he could get Lana back, before the star destroyer came and picked her up. "It's over. I'll never get back to the clone HQ in time!"

The doctor put his hand on the grief-stricken clone's shoulder. "Maybe I can help you." he said. "I transport medical supplies from the city to the clone HQ. You can hide aboard my ship, and I'll sneak you in. I can get you there within three hours. Think of it as my way of showing my thanks."

1328 slowly stood up, shaking off the pain. New determination had rooted itself deep in his mind. He was ready. "Is your ship prepared for launch?"

"Yes." the doctor said.

"Then let's go…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, cuz it took me FOREVER!!

Anyway, Please review! I kind've have the story mapped out, but it's not concrete yet, so leave a review, or email me with ideas, thoughts, likes, dislikes, etc. P.S. I'm gonna need a little R&R. OK! thanks so much for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

The sun was retreating behind the mountains, as the sky was beginning to be invaded by the darkness of night. A lone ship rocketed over the barren, cracked Saleucami desert, seemingly headed off into more barren lands.

Inside the ship, two men sat at the cockpit, watching the world around them zoom by in a blur.

"What are you going to do once you're there?" The ordinary looking man said, swiveling his pilot's chair in the other man's direction?

"I really don't know. I mean, I didn't even expect to get there in time." the man clad in white armor said. "By the way, thanks for giving me a lift…uh" He gestured at him slightly

"Oh. Dr. Crev Albrum." The doctor answered. "And you?"

The clone shrugged. "No names. Just numbers. So you can just call me 1328."

" Uh, alright." obviously not used to something like that. "Well, anyway, now that the formalities are out of the way, we really need to discuss some type of plan, or strategy."

"Yeah." 1328 said, straightening up in his seat. "Hmm…How close to the ship can you get me?"

"Probably not that close. I just land the ship where they tell me, and they take all the cargo."

"Wow." 1328 said, surprised. He looked back at the large metal crates, secured to the deck. "Didn't know you had so much medical supplies!"

Dr. Albrum sighed deeply. "We don't…." He said grimly, his expression showing much sorrow and defeat. "The Republic takes most of our supplies. In exchange they keep their presence in the city limited, but then again, they could probably just take it all. We have no means to stop them."

"I'm sorry." 1328 said, a noticeable pang of guilt throbbing in the back of his head.

It's alright. You seem like a good fellow, but the sooner this war is over the better, I want nothing more than to live out my days in peace with my family."

1328 felt better, hearing what Dr. Albrum said. "Thank you. But what do you think we shou-"

The clone was interrupted as a light at the control station lit up, and beeped loudly, making both men jump slightly in surprise.

"Hold on." The doctor said. "It's a transmission." he flipped two switches next to each other, and held down a red button. "Hello? This is Crev Albrum."

The frequency went in and out for a few moments before a voice very similar to 1328's began to speak in a very calm tone. "Dr. Albrum. We've been expecting you. Sending you the landing co-ordinates now."

"Thank you." The doctor said quickly, turning away from the console.

"Oh. and by the way, this will be your last delivery. We are preparing to leave the planet, and fly back to Coruscant."

Crev spun around and leaned down close to the console, trying to keep a steady voice. "Un-understood."

The transmission ceased, and Crev fell back into his chair, relieved. Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Congratulations." 1328 said. "Guess this is the first step towards a long lasting peace, eh?"

"Yeah…" Crev said. He sat there for moment, and then hopped up out of the chair and leaned over the ships controls. "Let's get to those landing co-ordinates, we'll sneak you in there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1247 stood rigidly at the Command deck, watching the numerous clones type attentively at their different consoles, completing one meaningless task at a time. He could never sit there like them, busily working and never doing much else. 1247 pondered this for a moment longer before he sensed that someone was standing behind him. With a cold casualness he turned around to see the ice-cold commander Neyo standing in front of him. 1247 was surprised to see him out of his particularly sinister looking armor, and instead, wearing an olive suit and hat, with an unknown medal adorned on his chest. His eyes were cold and fierce. If 1247 didn't know they were on the same side he would think Neyo was calculating the best way to kill him.

1247 was about to ask him about the new uniform, but Neyo started in first. "I hope you'll take your new position with some amount of responsibility."

"I hope you're not inferring something ." 1247 growled back, quickly, but decided against turning it into an argument. "Care to explain the new clothes?"

"No." Neyo began, but after a moment continued coldly. "But if you must know, after high command gave you the promotion for your successful capture of the Jedi, they found out I authorized it, and gave me one as well."

1247 looked down at the medal hanging from his chest plate. "I see, but that doesn't explain the suit."

"Times are changing…" Neyo said as he spun on his heel and began to walk out, seemingly uninterested in the conversation in the first place. "I suggest not getting lost in it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Crev's ship approached the landing zone 1328 noticed, from one of the windows, the numerous white specks moving in and out of the large capital ship's loading ramp. Although they were moving quickly it would take at least another full day to pack everything into the ship and make sure it was all accounted for.

"Hopefully enough time to find Lana and sneak out without anyone realizing it before it's too late." 1328 thought to himself as the rocky ground below began to get a lot closer. He stood up and looked around at the large metal boxes at the back of the ship. Only a few of them seemed small enough for just him to carry. He reached down, and hefted one up onto his shoulder. As he walked towards the landing ramp, and waited for it to open, he felt a hand clap onto his shoulder pad.

"I've made sure to kick up a lot of debris." Crev said, behind him. "when you get outside try to sneak away without being noticed. From there it should be relatively easy to infiltrate the ship."

1328 thought for a moment, and understood how much Crev was putting on the line for him, getting caught for this could mean something even worse than death. "Thank you." 1328 said. "For everything."

"Don't worry about it." the doctor said. "Good luck…"

With those words said he reached around 1328 and grabbed a large lever next to the landing ramp. He yanked it down in one hard motion. The landing ramp screeched to the sandy ground, as rays from the evening sun flooded into the ship, nearly blinding 1328 if his visor hadn't adjusted to the sudden change in visibility.

As quickly as he could 1328 walked down the ramp, and into the thick screen of sand and dust Crev's ship made. He didn't know where he was walking, but he didn't think it would matter, as long as he got as far away from the ship as possible. After a few tense moments, 1328 began to slow down, believing he was at a safe distance, but out of nowhere a voice rang out in his direction. "You! Stop!"

1328 froze in his tracks, nearly falling over. From behind him he could hear the sound of someone jogging up to him.

1328 took a deep breath and turned around, to face his pursuer

"What is it, Sir?" 1328 asked in his most calm, and casual voice.

The clone approaching him was holding a large datapad. "What's your designation number?"

"Uh, 2458, Sir!" 1328 said, thinking of a number off the top of his head.

The clone quickly tapped a few buttons on his datapad "It says here you're shift just ended, and won't start until 0700, tomorrow." He gave 1328 a quizzical, suspicious stare. "Mind telling me why you're still out here working?"

"I, uh…didn't realize my shift was over, Sir."

"Well it is. Leave that here." The clone said gesturing at the metal container 1328 was holding. "And head into the Liberator."

"The what?" 1328 said confused.

The clone impatiently pointed at the large starship sitting in the middle of the field HQ.

1328 was about to thank the clone, but he was already off, yelling at the other clones who were unloading the cargo from the ship. "Hey! Careful with that stuff! It could save your life later!"

As 1328 jogged off in the direction of the ship's large ramp, He began to formulate a plan to get Lana out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The newly promoted, 1247, marched threateningly down the durasteel hallway, his two newly appointed bodyguards flanked him on either side. As he approached the cell block's doors, a lone soldier guarding it quickly punched in the necessary code, on the screen next to the door. It opened smoothly. 1247 and the two clones continued down the hallway, this time cell doors lining the entire hallway on each side.

1247 walked briskly down the hall, knowing none of these cells contained the prisoner he was looking for. Reaching the end of the hallway, he met with another door, but this one had words written over it. CAUTION. LEVEL 3 PRISONERS. ENTRANCE IS RESTRICTED WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION.

1247 paid little attention, as another lone guard opened the entrance for him, and then stood rigidly at attention, blaster rifle in hand. As 1247 strolled in, he scanned the large room. It was strong durasteel, and there were three cells lining the far wall. As he took a few more steps in he was met by an un-armed clone wearing a dark jumpsuit. "Excuse me, Si-"

"Where is the Jedi?" 1247 said, uninterested in being here longer than he wanted to.

He pointed to the small cell on the left. "She's in that one, Sir."

"Have all my orders, regarding the prisoner, been followed?" 1247 asked coldly.

"Uh, yes, Sir. We followed as closely as we could." the clone said, trying to appear composed.

1247 nodded in what could almost be considered satisfaction. 1247 had fought alongside the Jedi long enough to know not to underestimate them, even a young padawan. "Were you able to extract any information from her?" he asked the clone next to him, who gave him a defeated sigh.

She's proved too strong for any mind affecting drugs, and that pretty much all we're allowed to do until we're authorized, to resort to more _extreme _measures."

1247 stared the other clone down. "How long will it take to get clearance?"

The clone stared at the floor like he knew he was in trouble. "We, uh. We haven't, uh…sent our request yet…"

1247's anger, and frustration boiled over. His first thought screamed at him to put a blaster bolt through this idiot's head, but he restrained himself. He grabbed the defenseless clone by his collar, and planted his armored fist right in the middle of the surprised clone's face, effectively breaking his nose. As 1247 released his grip, the unfortunate clone, sunk to the floor, unconscious.

Composing himself, 1247 called over two troopers guarding the occupied cell. "Take him to the medical bay, when he wakes up tell him I'll be back at the same time tomorrow, and he better have the clearance…"

The two clones complied. They picked him up and carried his limp body out of the room. It was at this time 1247 noticed everyone looking at him. "If anyone else wishes to join him, please continue to stare!" As quickly as the silence began, it was ended as everyone seemed to go right back to work.

With the situation taken care of, 1247 walked across the newly polished floor towards the cell the Jedi was being held in. As he approached he began to make out a figure sitting on the cell's dirty floor, perfectly still. A cruel grin spread across his face. "I'm sorry to say, but staring at the wall won't make it disappear."

With some difficulty, she stood up. "1247... I was wondering when you'd build up enough backbone, to come, and see me…"

Very uncommonly, 1247 burst out laughing. He pulled off his helmet to reveal a harsh, brutal face, riddled with scars. "Glad to see you remembered me, Lana."

"It doesn't take the force to sense when you're coming. I can smell your stench, from across the ship!" She said mockingly.

1247's grin evaporated into something more vicious. He would not let her win this battle. "Well, I came down here to welcome you to your new room. Best one on the ship! You've probably already noticed, but this is a force-sensitive holding cell. They cost a good, few credits, but with you as our guest we're more than willing to pay the price…And since I enjoy being an over-achiever I've taken the liberty of having you fitted with some stun cuffs. SC-401's, actually. Funny thing about them though. They seem to get tighter the more someone resists, so I wouldn't advise trying to escape, unless you don't mind having your wrists, and ankles crushed."

Lana stood there, seemingly un-fazed, by the high ranking clone's words. "Don't try to scare me with whatever half-baked comments you think up in your psychotic brain. It's been great fun talking with you, but I'd much rather stare at the wall." She turned around and sat back down despite the stun cuffs making it un-comfortable.

For a few moments 1247 stood there, staring white hot daggers into the back of the resilient prisoner. "What was that clone's name? you know, the one that the house collapsed on…" He said, mockingly.

She turned her head slightly, just enough for 1247 to look her in the eyes. "There." He thought. "I've found an opening in her armor…"

"Ah! 1328...You probably weren't conscious to see it, but the grenade, and the collapsed house, didn't finish him off." 1247 knew it was a lie, but as long as she didn't, it didn't matter. " He was trying to say something, but all I could hear was some strange gurgling noises, most likely him choking on the blood he coughed up. I almost decided to put him out of his misery, but it was a sight to good to pass up!"

1247 looked with a sense of self-satisfaction, as the girl in the cell, tried to fight off the tears silently welling up in her blue eyes. "Try to conserve your strength. By this time tomorrow you'll be getting private time with three of our newest interrogation droids models." Deciding not to wait for any new response he placed his helmet back on his head, spun on his heel and walked briskly towards the exit, followed by the bodyguards who waited for him off to the side. Today, he had won this personal battle, and tomorrow the droids would finish her off….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As 1328 entered the mess hall, his mouth began to water. Although the normal military food he got was bland and , crammed with artificial vitamins, and chemicals, 1328 hadn't eaten since last night, and his stomach was visibly protesting the very thought of him passing up on the food. As he finally gave in to his hunger, 1328 walked across the noisy mess hall, and stood as patiently as he could manage on the line. As he finally got his hands around a small bowl, with a spoon in it, 1328 slinked off to a corner and ate his chalky white food, silently thinking, about one thing: Lana… although he was eating, he still felt empty inside at the thought of not knowing if Lana was alright, or not…or even if he was ever going to see her again….

"I told you they were going to blow that place to pieces….." A clone said, quietly, sitting with a group of other clones, at the table directly behind 1328.

1328 silently put down his spoon and strained his ears to listen to the other clone's conversation.

"Are you sure?" another clone asked.

"Yeah. The previous clone replied. "I got a friend who works in the control deck, and has heard some pretty interesting information…"

After a moment of the other clones pleading, and ordering him to share the secret, he finally gave in with both hands raised. "Not so loud!" he said in low tone. "Anyway, as I said, my friend overheard that the prisoner they brought in is a Jedi, they think she knows where all of the other Jedi are hiding, on this planet, and others."

1328 felt another pang of sadness as he heard about the Jedi on the ship. He knew who it was, but kept listening

"-So what they plan to do is, destroy the planet until every living thing down there is nice and burnt…"

"What about the Jedi?" another clone piped up.

"I don't know, he never told me. But then again, who cares?"

1328 quickly grabbed his helmet, jumped out of his seat, and ran for the door, bumping a few unfortunate clones on the way. He was feeling nauseous, and his mind was spinning from the new information he just heard. Looking for somewhere secluded to hide, 1328 ran through the first door, that didn't resemble crew quarters. As he entered the room, filled with large crates, 1328 dropped his helmet, and fell onto his hands and knees. He threw up partially digested soup, that he ate earlier. He felt sick to his stomach, thinking of all the people down there who were going to die. He though of the cruel, sadistic monster that was hiding under a cloak of lies, preaching liberty, and justice. He never hated something so much in his entire life.

All the information and thoughts swirling around in his head made 1328 tired. With a small grunt, he got up and walked over to a large crate, he sat down and leaned on it, taking a deep breath, and trying to clear his mind. He had to formulate a plan, something to get Lana and destroy this ship at a safe distance.

"Great plan!" his mind told him. "And how do you plan to do this? The only thing vulnerable in this ship would be the engines, there's enough hypermatter to destroy it five times over."

"Then that's what I'll do…" he whispered.

"With what?!" His mind screamed at him. "You'd need powerful explosives to destroy those engines! And even if you did you'd have to be rea-"

"Shut up!" he yelled, trying to silence his rational thoughts. In his frustration, he swung his elbow into the metal crate that he was leaning against, but instead his elbow smashed the small code box causing sparks to fly up at him. Alarmed, 1328 jumped up and got as far away as he could, fearing something bad might happen, but as luck would have it, the sparks ceased, and the metal crate's door swung open.

1328 was at first hesitant to approach, fearing he had triggered something bad, and unforeseen. But as he cautiously crept closer, he realized what he'd accidentally done, Smashing the code box caused the magnetic locking mechanism to short out and stop working. The large door was only slightly ajar, 1328 put his hand on it and carefully opened it further. An unsteady box fell out of the crate and settled at 1328's feet. He got on one knee, to better examine this box. He picked up the box, which was surprisingly heavy for it's size. As curiosity finally got the best of him, 1328 set the box down and pulled out his knife, which was as clean and sharp as ever, despite his recent exploits. He ran a gloved finger around the box, feeling for any groove that could be the lid.

"Ah! Here we go!" 1328 said after a few moments of patient searching. "Let's hope it's worth it…" he jammed the glimmering blade into the groove, and began to pry the lid off. Just as he thought his knife would snap, the lid finally gave way, with enough force to throw it a foot away from the opened box. 1328 stared inside, and was shocked by what he saw. Lying in front of him, in two rows of five, were shiny, sphere-shaped objects. Class-A thermal detonators, the most powerful handheld explosive in the galaxy, only permitted by the military in times of war. With as much care as he could he picked one up out of the padded box, and thought about how to activate it. 1328 thought for a moment. "Is this a sign?" he said out loud. Not giving it a second thought he grabbed the box with the rest of the grenades, "We're in business…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1247 had just left the prison hall, and was now heading down to the officer's lounge, where he knew Commander Neyo would be. Questions were still in his head over their previous conversation, and the newly promoted clone wanted answers. As he finally reached the officer's lounge door, he turned to the other two clones. "Wait here." he said in a cold, deep voice.

Without a word, the two clones stood at attention on either side of the door, still as a pair of stone statues. 1247 leaned over the code box, and typed the correct sequence. "Promotions do have their perks." He thought. The door slid open smoothly, and 1247 walked in to see Neyo, standing at the window with an elegantly shaped glass, filled with a deep purple liquid. Hearing someone approach from behind him, he turned around. As Neyo realized who it was, 1247 could have sworn that he saw a look of contempt flash across his face. "Hello, Captain."

"Neyo…" He replied, in acknowledgement. "I have some questions I want answered, and right now you're the only one who can do that, so don't waste my time."

Neyo's expression went from a cold, emotionless stare, to a dangerous, warning glare. "May I remind who you're talking to? I am commander of this ship, and if you think you have the power to do, and say what you want just because of your new promotion, your seriously mistaken. Talk to me like that again, and I'll leave you here to be vaporized like the rest of this planet's population, Understood?"

1247 showed no anger, but inside his mind he was fuming. If there was one thing he did not take well it was threats. "Do it." he said, calmly. "But just remember who brought in our valuable prisoner. These promotions are only the tip of the iceberg, if you kill me now, who's going to lie to high command, and tell them how you not only ordered the search party, but took part in the capture. Kill me, and it all ends here…."

1247 watched for the second time as commander Neyo, coldly, and quietly weighed, and calculated his options. After a few tense moments Neyo gulped down the rest of the strange liquid, and set the glass down on the desk. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Uniform?" 1247 asked, implying at the change from white armor, to the olive officer's suit.

"Like I said before. Times are changing. The republic is being erased, by what can best be described as a galactic empire, a dictatorship ruled by Palpatine.

"How? Why?"

"Don't you understand? This army was never meant to destroy the droid army We were meant to replace them. We betrayed the Jedi, because it was obvious they could never be persuaded to join us, so they had to be exterminated in one, swift move. As to why, your guess is as good as mine, as far as I'm concerned I was created to fight, not to question. Palpatine's not the first power hungry man, and I doubt he'll be the last."

1247 nodded, silently, in agreement. "What will happen to the clone army?"

"Hmm…Palpatine cannot maintain his power without us to enforce his will. Although I'm not sure if he'll continue to use clone bred soldiers, in his army. I suppose all the clone's will one way, or another, die off. Clone's are expensive to make, compared to just forcing a draft on controlled planets."

"Do the Kaminoans know this?"

"Well, the only way for Palpatine to stop the cloning program permanently, would be to destroy the factory, in Tipoca city. If this is what Palpatine wants, then a siege is inevitable."

"What about the Jedi? Have they all been killed." A slight tone of hatred noticeable in his voice.

"Most, as I'm told. They raided the temple on Coruscant, and none were left alive, But that doesn't mean a few of them weren't able to survive. They're out there. Hiding." He said, pointing at the sky through the window, which was now dark, and filled with bright stars. "Are there any more questions?" Neyo said, impatiently, Which was surprising, as Neyo rarely ever showed emotion of any type.

"No." 1247 answered. "I need to think about what I've just heard." he turned to leave.

"Remember. This information is strictly between us." Neyo reminded him as he turned back around to look out the window.

"I know." With that said, he left the room, and walked down the hall towards his quarters, with the two clone following. "The galaxy's gone to hell….And I wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After a few hours of working 1328, let out a deep breath. He wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. "There. Finished…"

Laying before him was what looked like a rectangular device, with metal orbs welded onto it, which were all wired to a small receiver in the center. 1328 was very proud of it, because he constructed it in only a couple of hours, using the parts, and tools found in other crates that were lying around. The mechanics of the device were as simple as they were effective. The rectangular base, had a magnetic setting, which would allow it to adhere to the hypermatter engine. The receiver would be able to read an incoming signal from a safe distance. The receiver sends a tiny shot of electricity through the wires, and directly into each grenade's safety lock mechanism, Short circuiting it, and causing all the grenades to go live. The device that sends out the signal was a powerful comlink, that he refitted to send out frequency signals instead of one's voice.

With great care, he placed the device over in the corner, where it would be safe from any accidents. He walked back over, to where he was sitting and began to remove his armor, which had been on for far too long, and was starting to make him uncomfortable. After about ten minutes of slowly removing the independent armor plates, 1328 stretched , happily, his movements unhindered by the white armor, now only wearing a black jumpsuit.

After all of his work, 1328 was surprised to find out he wasn't tired even after the hours he put into making the explosive. The clone decided to do some exercises. The ones he normally did during basic training. He did this absent mindedly for about a half an hour, until he didn't even have enough energy to stay on two feet. As he lied down on his back and looked up at the durasteel ceiling, he tried to drift off to sleep….But it never came. Waiting longer only made him even more restless. The utter silence of the room made him uncomfortable.

As he lied there, alone with his thoughts, he once again found himself thinking about Lana, The Jedi who made him want to forget his life in the clone army, and whole-heartedly follow her to the ends of the galaxy. He felt emotions, and ideas he never believed existed, until he was with her.

"Could it…Could it be…._Love_?" 1328 thought. "Do I even know what love is?"

The emotion 1328 felt for Lana scared him deeply, and at the same time, fascinated him to no end. It made him feel…Different. Like he mattered, as if he wasn't just another copy, sent off to die, and never heard from again. He was happy when he was with her, and he was ready to die for her….For something he held dear. Tomorrow, he would find her, even if he had to tear this ship apart….He continued to think about Lana, even after sleep finally took him…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok!...sorry it took a while. it'll say why in my profile. Anyway, this story is about to reach it's end, so tell me what you think, and I'll start the new chapter when I can. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

1247 walked confidently down the durasteel hallway, his two guards following closely behind him. He couldn't help but smile under his helmet as any trooper approaching him would move close to the wall to let him by without bumping into him. Whether it was fear or respect, 1247 liked having a noticeable amount of authority. After trekking through, and down the long hallways, the clone had reached his destination. He wanted to get his hands on whatever the Jedi had during her trip through the desert with the traitorous 1328. Namely her lightsaber. As far as he was concerned, the rest of her possessions could be shot off towards the nearest sun.

As he approached the booth, he was greeted by the mechanical voice of a computer. "Please state your business…" It asked.

"Requesting the personal items of prisoner 3/289." the clone said, coldly.

"Please wait while scan is in progress." a faint blue light scanned smoothly across 1247's black visor. "Request granted…BC-1427."

"Took long enough." he mumbled in annoyance. He roughly shuffled through the pile of sand covered items, until he finally reached what he was looking for. He picked up the light saber, and brushed the sand off with his other hand. "A suitable trophy." He thought. 1247 placed it securely in his belt and began to walk away. "Burn the rest." he said without another glance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328 awoke slowly, his head still filled with confusing thoughts, and concerns. He brushed them all aside. The room was the same as before, so he had no way to tell what time it was, but he was ready, and the time was now . He donned his armor, and secured his belt carrying the twin blasters for hopefully the last time. Grateful to see that the bomb was still in working order, he opened up a toolbox he found and placed it gently inside. It would make for a perfect disguise while he traversed his way to the engine room. He held the hidden bomb under his arm and took the deepest breath he had ever taken. His thoughts went to the people down in the spaceport who would cease to exist if he failed, and his prayers went to Lana who he would never see again if he failed…He released the breath he was holding in his lungs with a deep sigh. "I won't fail."

1328 reached out and pressed the button that opened the door. It opened smoothly, like every other door in the large vessel. He stepped out into the brightly lit hallway, and walked casually in the direction of the engine room. In truth, he had no idea how to get their. The best he could do would be to lie to someone, and tell them he needed to make a repair to the main reactor. But oddly enough, the ship's halls were empty. He hadn't seen anyone since he'd left the room. The clone was nervous that the halls were so empty, and was about to investigate when all of a sudden an aggressive looking clone, flanked by two others, rounded the corner, and were all walking in his direction. The clone did not look like he was in the mood to be bothered, but this might be the only chance he'd get to find directions.

As soon as the clone was in speaking distance, 1328 saluted, rigidly. "Excuse me, sir."

At first the clone sighed impatiently. For a second 1328 thought he was going to continue walking, but, surprisingly he slowly turned towards him. "What is it?" He said, clearly unhappy about being disturbed by some lowly grunt. "Well? Don't waste my time."

"Sorry, sir! I just got transferred here from Coruscant, so I'm still not sure where the engine room is. I need to patch up a leak on the mai-"

"Whatever. Just follow the hallway I came down, and there's a computer that'll tell you. It's too obvious to miss. Even for an idiot engineer."

"Uh, thank you, sir." 1328 said, a little annoyed at the clones cocky attitude. "Sir, why is there no one in the halls?"

The other clone was already walking away from him, his guards following obediently. "The bombardment is starting soon." he said, without looking back.

As soon as the three clones had disappeared from sight 1328 sprinted down the hallway, remembering the directions given to him. 1328 certainly didn't like the insulting clone, but there was something odd about him which he couldn't shake from his head. Like he'd met him before….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328 walked cautiously into the engine room. His visor adapting quickly to the, almost sinister looking, darkness. The engine room was vast, weaving with pipes and wires. He looked to the center of the room, to see the huge cylindrical reactor sitting there silently, it's size was immense, nearly reaching the ceiling. he immediately got to work. He walked across the floors grilled plating, to the reactor. The clone examined the large engine, thinking of the best place hook up the bomb. He pried away a metal plate to reveal the inside of the hypermatter engine.

"Perfect." He thought. 1328 activated the bomb's magnet, and watched it securely stick to the inside of the hypermatter engine. He wanted to test the remotes connection to the bomb, but that would set it off. He'd just have to trust that it was all in working order. He grabbed the durasteel plate off of the floor, and inserted back onto the reactor's protective, metal shell. It didn't stay on very well, but it was better than having it lying on the floor suspiciously. 1328 picked up the empty toolbox and threw it in the corner to take suspicion off of the place where the bomb was hidden. He left the room as if he had never entered it. The easy part was over, but the hard part was about to begin…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once again 1328 approached the helpful computer. "Please state your business…"

"How do I get to the prison blocks?" He asked.

The computer didn't say anything, but instead showed him a holo-diagram of the ship. It showed where he was, and then drew a line to where the prison blocks were located.

"Thanks." 1328 said, as he ran off in the prison block's direction. The computer didn't say anything. It merely shut down, waiting for the next clone in need of help.

1328 ran into the repulsorlift elevator, that was displayed on the diagram. He typed in the floor where he would find the prison blocks, and watched silently as the antigrav generator pushed the elevator up a few floors. He silently checked both of his blasters. They were almost out of power. He would have to change weapons soon, but for now these would be fine.

Almost as if the lift's doors were waiting for him to be ready, they opened as soon as he holstered both blasters. An identical corridor stretched before him. A lone clone trooper wielding a blaster rifle stood silently in front of a square blast door. 1328 approached him casually.

"Is this the prison block?" he asked the guard, who looked at him through his black visor.

"Yes. But you're only allowed In the level 1 security area. You'll need authorization to get into anything higher. Understand?"

"Yeah." 1328 said. "Just let me in."

The clone complied, without saying another word. The door shot open, and closed smoothly as 1328 walked briskly through. He found himself walking down a corridor lined on both sides with durasteel cell doors. Another white armored clone stood guard at the opposite door, eyeing 1328 cautiously, as he walked closer.

1328 examined the writing above the opposing door. "Can I get through here? There's someone I'm trying to meet."

"Do you have authorization?" the clone asked, almost knowing what the answer would be.

1328 shrugged his shoulders. "Uh, no…"

"Then I'm sorry." the guard said, sarcastically. "but you're on your own."

1328 sighed. "I'm sorry too then." Before the guard could ask why, he felt the barrel of a blaster pistol press into his side. "lay down your rifle…slowly." the guard reluctantly surrendered his weapon, laying it, slowly, on the floor. "Good, now tell me what the code is to get into the level 3 security room."

"Not Happening." The guard retorted. "I'm the only one who knows the level 3 security code, and you can shoot me before I'll tell you anything."

1328 was about to beat the information out of him, when something interrupted him.

"Hey!" A voice coming from one of the cells called out. "Over here!" A hand shot out from the food compartment of one of the nearby cell doors, and began to wave.

"What is it?" 1328 said in slightly a frustrated tone.

"Let us help you!" The voice said. "Me and my brother know the code from watching the guard. If you can spring us, we'll get you in there!"

"Are you two sure you know the code?" 1328 said, not quite trusting the inmates, but desperate to know the code.

"Absolutely. Just free us and you'll be in there in no time!"

1328 looked back at the guard, who was still facing the wall. "I think your helpfulness has run it's course." He hit the guard, hard, in the back of the neck with the butt of his pistol. The unconscious guard fell to the ground limply. After making sure the guard was knocked out 1328 walked over to the cell door . With his free hand, he unlocked the durasteel cell door. The door opened to reveal two ragged looking men, both garbed in republic inmate suits. Before they could take more than one step forward, 1328 aimed his blaster at the two men. He recognized them from the spaceport.

"You two tried to kill me back in that cantina. There's no way I can trust you guys."

One of the men raised his hand up in a gesture of peace. "Please." He said calmly. "Our people have oppressed by these so called liberators." He gestured to the vessel around them. "We only want peace."

The clone was still unsure, remembering their hostility back at the cantina. "Do you promise you'll help me?"

"Yes, but only if we join our forces. Escaping will be no easy feat. I believe we have a better chance of surviving if we work together.

After a few tense moments of thinking, 1328 came to his conclusion. "You're right." he said. "It's safer to combine our forces." 1328 began to walk back the way he came.

"Where are you going?" The other man asked, confused.

"Getting you proper disguises." 1328 said, as he opened the door. The guard expected to see another clone, but instead was greeted by a sharp, painful strike to the back of his neck. 1328 caught the incapacitated clone, and dragged him back into the prison block. Although the door shut quietly, 1328 doubted anyone would be around to witness what he did.

1328 walked back over to the two brothers who understood what he wanted to do. "Do you know how to put on their armor?"

"Yeah, sure. We'll manage." The man said reassuringly. "But I think first I should open that door for you."

The clone nodded. "Thanks."

His new ally didn't respond, but instead walked over to the level 3 security door. He confidently tapped in an eight digit code, and hid out of sight. "Go." he said.

The door opened suddenly, and 1328 wasted no time in entering. As soon as he was clear of the door it automatically closed shut. Everyone in the room eyed him for a moment before resuming what they were originally doing. The clone counted everyone in the large room. "There are twenty people in the room, fifteen are guards, and the rest aren't combat oriented." 1328 thought to himself.

1328 suddenly felt an increasing anger gripped his heart, as he saw Lana lying limply in one of the dirty cells. His first thought was to start shooting, unfortunately for them, that's exactly what he did. In a split second he whipped out both blasters, aimed them in the direction where most of the white armored guards were grouped, and squeezed the triggers. Blue Light erupted from both of the barrels, spraying the guards in deadly laser fire. After a moment or two he stopped firing to see the burnt, lifeless corpses of nine soldiers, their white armor charred to a dark brown. 1328 ran for cover as the remaining six clones returned fire, nearly frying him. He slid for cover behind a large, durasteel working table. The rogue clone huddle behind it as cyan blaster bolts flew over and around him. The barrage seemed almost endless, and 1328 wasn't sure how much longer the desk could protect him. But as soon as it stopped he immediately leaned out of cover, and fired wildly at the guards. Two more fell, but the rest were still standing, and advancing slowly. He weighed his options, strategizing what be best to do. Suddenly there was commotion over by the door. 1328 peeked his head out to see the two brothers, wielding the guard's DC-15A rifles. The four guards only had enough time to turn before the were mowed down by the two of them.

1328 cautiously got out of cover and waved his thanks to them. They merely nodded, and continued to put on the white plastoid armor. 1328 immediately rushed over to Lana's cell. He looked in and saw she was still not conscious, her wrists and ankles apparently bound. He quickly noticed the cells power cables, giving it the immense power it needed to effectively detain her. His blasters tore through the weak metal exterior, and destroyed the delicate wiring inside. Without power, the cell's shield went in and out rapidly, before finally dropping completely. The clone then looked around for something to free her from her restraints. 1328 ran to the table and picked up an F-187 fusioncutter. The perfect tool for slicing through tough metal. He ran back over to Lana, who was starting to wake up, and began to slowly cut through the cuffs on her ankles. The bright sparks stopped flying as he finished slicing through the one binding her ankles, and then moved to the one's on her wrists.

As soon as he finished freeing Lana's hands, he gently tried to shake her awake. After a few moments of no results, She surprised 1328 by suddenly waking up and looking at him, clearly startled. With the force dampening field down, She flung him into the wall and pinned him there using the invisible force. "Who are you?!" She questioned.

1328 coughed. "It's…me." he wheezed. "Remember?…"

After a few moments she loosened up. "1328?…Is that you?…"

He nodded, rather than spoke.

She quickly released him from force's hold, and he sunk to the floor, coughing slowly. She embraced him warmly, her arms tightly wrapped around him. 1328 smiled. "Made it." he thought.

"You came for me?" She asked.

"Of course." He answered.

" I was scared. That scum, 1247 told me he killed you."

"Wait, he's alive?!" the clone asked, shocked.

"Yes…He's on this ship as we speak" She said. "He'll be back soon. We have to leave, now."

1328 agreed. Lana helped him up, and they both headed for the exit. "Wait." he said. The clone took off his holster belt, with the blasters, and gave it to her. "You'll need these."

She reluctantly accepted, knowing he was right. 1328 picked up one of the dead guards DC-15A's. "And one more thing…" he said.

"What?" she asked. Not sure what else he might pick up. Instead he waved at two men, clad in white armor, at the door, who gestured for him to come follow.

Lana was about to ask who they were, but 1328 took her hand and ran after them. "Let's go." He said "I'll explain when we're out of here…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1247 loudly entered the officer's lounge, his bodyguards, waiting outside. Although commander Neyo moved about the ship, taking care of many affairs, 1247 often found him in the officer's lounge, as if he'd never left.

"When's this bombardment beginning?" 1247 asked impatient as ever.

Neyo slowly turned to face him. "Soon…everything's loaded, and we've lifted off. We're just waiting for a few sandstorms to stop, over at the spaceport." Neyo quickly noticed the lightsaber hanging from 1247's belt. "For someone who hates the Jedi so much, you certainly aren't adverse to carrying around their weapons."

1247 gave him an angry look. "The Jedi aren't worthy of such an efficient weapon. I, on the other hand, am more than qualified to wield it…"

Under Neyo's helmet there was a look of distaste. "You'd be wise to keep that thing hidden from any imperial officer's. It's a traitor's weapon."

"Well, there's no other imperial officers on this ship. Just cannon fodder recruits from Coruscant."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't belittle my crew." Neyo said in a warning tone. "There are no recruits on this ship…."

"That's a lie." 1247 said. "I just spoke with one who said he transferred here from Coruscant."

Neyo thought for a few moments "We have an intruder." He said, his voice ice cold. "Sound the alarm, and hunt him down."

1247 stood there, almost like he was a statue. He was thinking deeply, and not paying attention to Neyo.

"Well?" Neyo said. "Hurry and find him."

1247 sighed deeply. "The Jedi prisoner escaped, and killed you with her lightsaber…."

"What are you talking abo-" he only got that far. 1247 pulled out and activated the lightsaber. In one swift blur of purple, he had decapitated his commanding officer. The helmeted head rolled into the corner, while the lifeless body collapsed onto the floor.

1247 grinned wickedly. "Woops. Clumsy me."

1328 took off his helmet and picked up Neyo's. After knocking out the lifeless head inside, he put it on. Neyo was a commander, and from his helmet he could give out announcements over the ship's speakers. He cleared his throat, then changed the voice output setting to "loudspeaker". "Attention. This is commander Neyo." 1247 said mimicking Neyo's cold robotic voice as best he could. "There is a bomb somewhere on this ship, and I'm ordering an emergency evacuation. Everyone abandon ship."

As soon as he could hear the sound of the alarms being raised, he took off Neyo's helmet, and put his own back on. "Good. It Worked." He walked out of the officer's lounge where his two bodyguards were waiting for him, loyally. "Follow me." He said, which they did immediately. "We're going to the engine room…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two prisoner's had introduced themselves as brothers. Kraton, the older. And Tressk, the younger. 1328 had figured it for the best not to tell Lana they were from the cantina incident.

After a few minutes of running through the ship's corridors. A voice started to talk over the hallway's speakers. "Attention. This is commander Neyo. There is a bomb somewhere on this ship, and I'm ordering an emergency evacuation. Everyone abandon ship."

"Damn!" 1328 cursed out loud. "They found the bomb I planted. We need to get out of here now!"

"Don't worry." Kraton said. "My brother and I know where the hanger is. Follow us. Quickly!"

As the four of them sprinted down the hallways, the many doors of the ship opened up. Dozens of clone troopers surged out into the hallways. Although they didn't notice the four of them, 1328 knew they would have to fight hard for a ship of their own. After five minutes of running, they finally made it into the vast hanger, but the ships inside were leaving quickly. The few gunships, and ARC 170's they had were filled to the brim with troops, while the much smaller, one man, V-wing fighters were being fought for by the various clones.

"There's no ship that can carry us all." Tressk said, in a defeated tone.

"Wait." Lana said, as if she had just found something hidden. "What about that?" She pointed to a large, three winged, transport sitting in the far corner. "I think I can fly that."

Without saying a word, it was agreed, only because this may be their only chance to escape…. As the four of them made their way to the other side of the hanger, past the fighting clones, and hovering ships, 1328 was doubtful. Like an invisible tether keeping him from leaving. He felt it in his head as much as in heart. He knew he had to stay, until that bomb destroyed this ship. He had decided this the second he set foot on the ship…. But first he needed to make sure Lana was safe….

He walked up the ramp, into the ship. Tressk was securing himself in a seat, While Lana and Kraton were typing in coordinates on the ship's computer.

"Where are we going?" 1328 asked quietly, setting down his helmet on one of the padded seats.

"Polis Massa." Lana said. "There's a base there that we can hide out in. It's a safe place for Jedi."

1328 nodded in silent agreement. After a few more minutes of working Lana and Kraton were done. "We're ready." Kraton announced. "Let's go."

1328 knew it was now or never. "No." He said. "I'm staying…."

The looks he got were a mix of confusion, and shock. "What do you mean?" Lana asked. Her blue eyes piercing right through him. "You can't…"

1328 sighed. "I have to…it's the only way to be sure."

The Jedi got out of her seat. "Then I'm going with you…" She said, confidant in her decision.

"No!" 1328 interrupted. "You have to leave. There is only death where I am headed….The others need you with them…"

Her eyes began to well up. "But I need you with me."

Immediately, his throat tightened, and a pain rose deep inside him. He could no longer look her in the eye, so he turned around and began to walk back down the ramp. Saying nothing more.

He barely took a step before he felt a delicate hand, grab his shoulder and twist him around. He looked face to face at Lana, who face was streaked with tears. "Stay with me…" she whispered. "….I love you…."

The clone wouldn't stop himself as he held her close, and kissed her for the longest time. He had wanted to do that for long time but never did. He knew this was the last time he'd ever get a chance. He could feel her heart beating hard and fast, while his heart, threatened to tear through his chest. He wanted to hold onto her forever, but a voice in his head whispered solemnly. "You need to let her go…"

"I know…"

As he pulled away, slowly, he whispered into Lana's ear. "Goodbye…."

Without warning, he picked her up and tossed her back into the ship. Before she could recover, he closed the ramp from the outside, and shot the controls for it, shorting out the ramp control. Lana quickly tried to open it again, but it was no use. She then threw waves of the force down upon the ramp, trying to force it open. The ramp started holding strong, but soon the relentless hits began to take their toll.

"No!" Kraton Yelled. "You'll destroy the ship!" He and Tressk quickly grabbed her and pulled her away from the damaged ramp. She didn't fight them, but she cried silently as they set her down, away from the ramp.

"We need your help, Lana! You have to pilot us out of here!" Tressk said, more panicked than angry.

Kraton kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. He knows what he's doing."

Lana knew they were right. She got up and sat down in the pilot's chair. She pulled the ship into a smooth hover, and then pushed the throttle forward, sending the ship flying out of the open hanger. "Goodbye…" she whispered, her voice, a pool of sadness. "May the force be with you…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328 watched silently as the ship left the hanger, and shot towards the sky. "They've made it." He said out loud, not caring if anyone heard. "Now, for the bomb."

He pulled the small detonator out of his belt pouch, and looked at it, trying to decide if he should activate it now, or check the bomb first. "It'd be smarter to check the bomb." He told himself.

Rifle in hand, he ran back the way he had come, past the prison blocks, down the elevator, and passed the computer, which had turned off, because of the emergency evacuation . He grimaced as he entered the engine room, remembering that he'd left his helmet on the ship with the others. Despite the poor lighting, he continued in anyway, slowly making his way deeper into the room, and closer to the main reactor…. Just as he entered the smaller, circular reactor room, a light turned on. The bomb had been discovered, and was lying on the floor. It's receiver torn out. Three clones were standing before him. two of them had their rifles trained on him, and the one in the center was removing his helmet, revealing a scarred face that 1328 hoped he would never see again. It was 1247...

"Hmmm….who's this we have here?" 1247 said with a mocking grin. "Feels like forever since I've seen you, 1328"

"Not long enough…" he retorted seriously, hands still clutching his rifle.

1247 scowled. "Now, is that how you want to greet your commanding officer?"

"you're a liar, a cheater, and a cold-blooded murderer, but not an officer."

1247 simply grinned again. "After I defuse the bomb and save the ship single-handedly, I believe officer will be…below me…"

"You only care about yourself." 1328 said "That's why I know you'll lose."

He laughed, hysterically. "Who am I going to "Lose" to, huh? You?"

"Yes. That's right." the lone soldier said. Gripping his rifle even tighter.

1247 stepped back as his two guards took aim. "Whatever you say…"

Before he could finish his sentence, 1328 quickly aimed his rifle at the light on the ceiling, and squeezed the trigger. The cyan blaster bolt from his rifle, destroyed the it, causing the room to go into a state of darkness. He then hit the deck, as bright lasers shot over him, and into the wall behind him. The outnumbered clone knew he only had a few precious seconds before their visors adjusted to the dark. He aimed his rifle carefully where the enemy fire was coming from, and fired off two bursts, one at each target. He nearly yelled in joy when the firing finally stopped and the sound of people falling was heard.

1328 got up quickly and ran over to the bodies. He located one with his gloved hands, and felt his way towards the head. As soon as he felt the shape of a helmet in his hands, he quickly pulled it off, and put it on his own head. The dark room suddenly lit up, and 1328 looked down. He felt a wave of fear run over him like a cold rain, as he saw that only two bodies were lying in front of him. 1247 was no where to be seen…

As 1328 stood up, a laughter echoed throughout the chamber. "Well, I was going to kill them when this was over anyway. so no skin off my bones." 1247 mocked him again.

"Show yourself!" 1328 demanded.

"Why would I do that, and spoil our fun?" 1247 said, maniacally. "We're only just beginning."

With that said, 1247 pulled out Lana's lightsaber, and revealed himself. He then activated it and charged 1328. luckily 1328 heard him and aimed his rifle at him, but before he could squeeze the trigger, a flash of purple sliced cleanly through his blaster, rendering it useless. 1328 jumped back just as his assailant swung again, nearly cutting through his mid-section.

Changing his tactic, 1328 dove straight for the lightsaber's handle, wrestling 1247 for it. After a few minutes, he wrenched the luminous weapon from 1247's hands, with a loud grunt. His victory was short lived, as 1247 quickly knocked it out of his hands, and kicked him to the grilled floor. 1247 ran right after the lightsaber, but fell forward as the rogue clone caught his boot. 1328 got back up as 1247 reached for the still activated lightsaber. He grabbed it and waited for 1328 to get close. He could sense he was right behind him. He twisted around and thrust the blade right through 1328's chest in one quick movement…. 1328 stumbled back, purple lightsaber still protruding from his chest. After a few steps back he tripped and fell over the body of one of the dead guards. His breathing was erratic and un-controllable, while his eyes, were wide, and un-blinking as if still in shock from being beaten.

1247 stood over him. Taking much delight in the pain of 1328. "It seems…You've lost"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328's inside screamed in horrible pain, but the shock froze him the way he was. He didn't even feel anything as 1247 reached down and tore the lightsaber out. 1247 continued to say something, but 1238 couldn't hear anything, his body was shutting down for good….

"I can't…feel…anything…" He thought.

"Don't give up…" a voice in his head, said. "Fight it."

_"I'm dying…I can't fight off death."_

"But you can slow it down. At least for a little bit off time. You have to try…"

1328 flexed his fingers, they were numb, but he could feel something. "What is it?" he thought.

It was metal, and smooth. His fingers worked their way up to find a trigger….

"A blaster…" He concluded….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's pathetic just looking at you." 1247 said. Disgusted at the sight of 1328, with a burnt hole through his chest.

"How you survived for so long, surprises me even now." He continued to mock him. "But like most insects they get squashed sooner or later."

He became annoyed that 1328 didn't respond to anything he said, so he decided that this would be the end. "Goodbye, 1328."

He raised the lightsaber over his head, and was about to bring it down when….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Waiting until the last possible moment, 1328's hand wrapped around the blaster's handle, with one hand, he raised it point blank at 1247's chest. At that point every passing second seemed to take a millennia. The lightsaber inched closer to his face while his finger slowly squeezed the trigger. The lightsaber was mere centimeters away, when blue lasers sprayed from the long barrel. At this range the blue light melted 1247's plastoid armor, and burned holes straight through his entire body. The lightsaber was flung from his hands, and rolled harmlessly into the main reactor's metal covering.

1247 fell silently to his knees, his eyes were as lifeless as his heart. He wheezed out one last breath before finally falling forward onto the metal grill, dead…..

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1328's arm was to weak to hold the rifle up any longer. As the rifle hit the floor, he began to feel the burning pain inside him, it was nearly unbearable.

"Move. He thought to himself. "Finish what you've started…"

He crawled his way to the bomb, every movement hurting more than the last. He sat up against the giant reactor, and then picked up the defused bomb. He placed it back where he had previously put it, and manually primed one of the grenades. The ten second timer began to count down.

"Rest." He thought. His breathing ragged, and painful.

_9.…8.…7_

He remembered when he couldn't find a reason to risk his life. When he couldn't think why he would fight so hard.

_6.…5.…4_

He loved Lana. That was something sacred to him…

_3...2...1.……_

_"_Something to fight for….." He whispered. A smile on his face as the bomb erupted in a white light.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

hope you liked it! epilogue's next.


	9. Afterword

The skies above Kamino were locked in an everlasting blanket of dark, angry clouds, as the billions of raindrops pelted the restless ocean and barraged the beacon of light that was Tipoca city. An army of Republic warships began to descend out of the clouds, Their intentions obvious. As the large ships moved in slowly, a small, blue interceptor, barely noticeable against the water's surface, flew silently towards the city, and into a small hangar, that was situated beneath the city's cloning facility. She was met by a female Kaminoan, dressed in an elegant blue, and white outfit. Her eyes, were deep, and glassy while her nose was merely a pair of slits. Her body was tall, and thin, with a luminous skin color. She seemed unnaturally calm despite the widely known fact that a siege was about to begin.

"Greetings, Master Jedi." she said to the hooded figure. "I hope your voyage here was safe."

The Jedi pulled back the brown, cloth hood, to reveal a woman with short, brown hair that hung just below her shoulders. Her features were strikingly beautiful by human standards, and her piercing, blue eyes had a look a determination about them.

"It was. Thank you."

The Kaminoan simply nodded her head. "Please follow me. He is finished."

The Kaminoan walked down the empty hallways with silent feet that seemed to be lighter than air. The Jedi followed closely behind, looking at the different equipment the cloners used. The kaminoan glided smoothly through the halls until she reached a certain room, with unrecognizable lettering. Her three fingered hand tapped a short code into a panel, and it opened up smoothly. She moved in quietly towards a small cushioned pod, bent down, and gently picked up a tiny figure, wrapped securely in a white blanket.

The Kaminoan moved closer to the Jedi, and handed the clone to her. "He is exactly the way you asked. No aging alterations, and cloned from the cell of BT-1328, which we found stored in our archives. He is a successful copy."

The human cradled the baby gently in her arms. "He's precious…" The freshly cloned copy slept soundly, his head resting against her shoulder, and fragile body heaving up and down calmly.

"Now, Master Varik. You must fulfill your side of the deal."

"Of course." the Jedi agreed, quickly.

The Kaminoan pulled a small, smooth device out of the fold in her robe, and placed it gently in her outstretched hand. "Keep it safe, until the time is right…"

The human nodded "I understand."

Suddenly the sound of turbo lasers began to thunder throughout the city, they had little time left, before the lasers would start to rain down on their position.

"I will tell my leaders you have agreed." the Kaminaon said with a faint smile. "You must leave now. I have to assist with the defense of the city."

Before the human could thank her, the Kaminoan was already gone. The human stood in silence, looking at the sleeping bundle in her arms, and knew it was time to leave. She retraced her steps back to the hangar where her ship was docked, and opened the cockpit. She entered the ship carefully so as not to disturb the slumbering baby, and then flew off in the direction she had come. She looked over her shoulder, back at Tipoca city to see red streaks bombard the city's defenses. There was no chance of victory for them.

As she entered the vastness of space, she looked into the sleeping face of the baby, and couldn't stop smiling, even as tears rolled down her cheeks. "He's destined for great things." she said as if she was talking to someone else in the ship. "Just like you, 1328.……."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I had writing it! Review if you want, or email.


End file.
